Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was granted a major court relief when the Prevention of Benami Property Transactions Appellate Tribunal in Delhi dismissed allegations against him and his family.
Following the court verdict, the Income Tax Department on Friday cleared all Pawar's properties seized in the 2021 benami case.
The court dismissed all the claims of benami transaction and declared that the allegations lacked sufficient evidence as Advocate Prashant Patil represented Pawar and his family and argued that they had not committed any offence.
According to the tribunal, no irregularities were detected in the records presented. "The material produced by the appellant does not show any benami transaction", the court ruled while adding that all payments for the properties were made through legitimate channels.
The tribunal verdict came a day after Ajit Pawar took oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister following a mega political suspense of eleven long days over the faces of the newly formed government led by the Mahayuti alliance.
The benami assets case
The Benami assets case filed against Pawar on October 7, 2021, surfaced when the Income Tax Department conducted raided several companies and recovered documents that established links with certain properties owned by Ajit Pawar and his family under benami ownership.
Back in October 2021, properties valued at over Rupees 1,000 crore were attached under the Prohibition of Benami Properties Prevention Act (PBPP). The list of attached assets included Jarandeshwar Sugar Factory in Maharashtra라이브 바카라 Satara, an official premises in Mumbai, a flat in Delhi, a resort in Goa and land parcels at 27 different locations in Maharashtra.
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Moreover, the IT department also detected unaccounted income of Rs 184 crore from two real estate business groups in Mumbai and some entities allegedly associated with Ajit Pawar's relatives.
