Interestingly, Pawar was not a director of the bank and neither was holding any other position during the span of 2007 to 2011. Thus, whether he could be prosecuted or not is a question of law.
Clearing the air over this, senior counsel Prasad Dhakephalkar said Pawar cannot be prosecuted only because he is an influential person.
“If this is the theory, then if a policeman does something wrong should the DGP be prosecuted just because he might be an influential officer? This all (action by ED) is ridiculous,” Dhakephalkar said.
“Pawar wasn’t holding any office of the bank at the relevant time and thus cannot be held responsible for the wrong committed by the directors,” Dhakephalkar added.
Countering this argument, advocate Satish Talekar, who represents Arora said, “Pawar is the lifetime chairman of Vasant Dada Patil sugar factory. He guides and influences all the decisions of the cooperative sector. Thus, he cannot argue that he had no direct relation to the bank.”
