The Income Tax (I-T) Department has cleared properties valued at over Rs 1,000 crore that were seized in 2021 from Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and his family.
This move follows the dismissal of allegations by the Prevention of Benami Property Transactions Appellate Tribunal, which had claimed that Pawar and his family were the owners of benami properties.
Ajit Pawar, a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader who previously faced investigations by the Income Tax Department and Enforcement Directorate (ED), broke away from his uncle Sharad Pawar’s party last year to join the government as deputy chief minister.
He was again sworn in again as Deputy CM in the BJP-led Maharashtra government on Thursday.
Speaking to the media about the relief granted by the IT Appellate Tribunal, Ajit Pawar said, “When did I join the BJP? It has been around 1.5 years. It is not always necessary to accept allegations blindly. Everyone has the right to appeal.”
Three years ago, the Income Tax Department had attached assets valued at Rs 1,000 crore, alleging benami ownership, and also investigated Jarandeshwar Sugar Mill, which the ED had previously attached in connection with the MSCB scam and a money laundering case.
In its ruling, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal dismissed the allegations against Ajit Pawar and others, granting him a clean chit in the Jarandeshwar Sugar Mill case.
A Mumbai-based company acquired Jarandeshwar Sahakari Sugar Karkhana (SSK) through an MSCB auction and later leased it on a long-term basis to a firm linked to the Ajit Pawar family.
The Income Tax (I-T) Appellate Tribunal, ruling on the mill’s ownership, said that no inference could be drawn regarding Ajit Pawar’s involvement without evidence of his direct fund transfers for acquiring the alleged benami property.