A special court designated under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Mumbai last week rejected discharge pleas by former BJP Revenue Minister and NCP (SP) leader Eknath Khadse, his wife Mandakini and son-in-law Girish Chaudhari in an Enforcement Directorate (ED) case over alleged irregularities in a 2016 Pune land deal.

The court observed that “prima facie, a case of criminal misconduct, a scheduled offence, is made out” and material on record prima facie revealed that Mandakini and Chaudhari “acquired the property by legally unapproved means, relatable to a scheduled offence”.

“There is sufficient material to frame charges against all accused under the PMLA,” special judge Satyanarayan R Navander observed in his December 3 verdict, a copy of which was made available on Satu

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