Pune land deal case: Court denies bail to Eknath Khadse's wife, issues non-bailable warrant

Mumbai, Oct 12: A special court on Tuesday rejected the anticipatory bail application of Mandakini Khadse, wife of NCP leader Eknath Khadse, in a money laundering case pertaining to the 2016 Pune land deal and issued a non-bailable warrant against her.

The court said that it was issuing a non-bailable warrant against Mandakini Khadse considering her "conduct and disobedience" in not appearing before the court when the summons was issued to her last month.

"The conduct of the accused No 3 (Mandakini Khadse) is noted. Today again she is absent. The medical certificate relied on by her shows general ailments of fever, body ache and weakness. This medical ground is not satisfactory to exempt her from appearance in court," the PTI quotes special judge HS Satbai as saying.

"Considering her conduct and disobedience of the summons, it is not just to grant time for her appearance. She is wilfully avoiding to appear before the court. Her absence is intentional," the court said. The case is posted for further hearing on October 21.

This comes after the Enforcement Directorate filed a charge sheet against Eknath Khadse, Mandakini Khadse, son-in-law Girish Chaudhary and Sub-Registrar Ravindra Mulay.

However, the court had directed the NCP leader to appear before it on October 21 after Eknath Khadse sought exemption from appearance on medical grounds.

"Considering the fact that accused No 1 (Eknath Khadse) underwent laser haemorrhoidectomy on October 7, his exemption from appearance in court is granted for today only. Considering the medical advice, the accused shall appear in court on October 21," the court said.

It has to be noted that Girish Chaudhary is presently in judicial custody. As per the charge sheet filed by the ED, Chaudhary and the Khadses had purchased a government land in Bhosari near Pune for Rs 3.75 crore when its actual value was over Rs 31 crore.

The prosecution's case is that Khadse misused his official position as the state's Minister of Revenue to facilitate the transaction. After the controversy broke out, Khadse, who was a minister in the previous BJP government, resigned from his position in June 2016.

He quit the BJP in October 2020 and joined the NCP. With inputs from PTI