Big Relief For Ajit Pawar, Tax Department Clears Assets Seized In Benami Case

Mumbai:

In a big relief to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the Income Tax department has cleared properties worth over Rs 1,000 crore seized in 2021. The move came after the Prevention of Benami Property Transactions Appellate Tribunal dismissed the charges that he and his family owned benami property.

The ruling came a day after Mr Pawar took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister along with Sena’s Eknath Shinde at the swearing-in of Devendra Fadnavis as Chief Minister.

The I-T department had raided several locations linked to the NCP leader and his family on October 7, 2021, over allegations that he held benami assets. Several properties, including a sugar factory in Satara, a flat in Delhi, and a resort in Goa were attached in the case.

The tribunal, however, rejected the charges citing a lack of sufficient evidence. Stating that the properties were paid for using legitimate financial routes, it said the I-T department had failed to establish any link between benami properties and the Pawar family.

“There is no evidence to suggest that Ajit Pawar or his family transferred funds to acquire benami properties…it’s not that Ajit Pawar, Sunetra Pawar, and Parth Pawar transferred funds to procure benami properties,” the tribunal said.

Advocate Prashant Patil, representing the politician and his family, said the allegations had no legal standing and that the family had not done anything wrong. Asserting that the transactions for acquiring these properties were done through legitimate channels, including the banking system, he said the records had no irregularities.