Relief for NCP leader Hasan Mushrif, Bombay HC grants 2 weeks interim protection in ED case

Relief for NCP leader Hasan Mushrif, Bombay HC grants 2 weeks interim protection in ED case

ED had earlier summoned Mushrif on Monday but he did not turn up. His lawyers submitted his request seeking more time to appear before the agency.

Abhishek SharanUpdated: Wednesday, March 15, 2023, 09:10 AM IST
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Bombay High Court | Wikimedia Commons

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned former Maharashtra minister and NCP legislator Hasan Mushrif for recording his statement in a money-laundering probe into the alleged irregularities in a Kolhapur-based sugar mill.

Mushrif, accompanied by his lawyers, arrived at ED’s headquarters on Tuesday afternoon. He offered to record his statement and expressed his cooperation in the probe but was asked by the agency officials to present himself on Wednesday before the case officers for the purpose, sources said. Earlier in the day, the Bombay High Court granted him interim protection for two weeks.

After emerging from the agency headquarters, Mushrif told the media that he came to the ED office to express his desire to extend full cooperation in the probe. Mushrif’s lawyer, Prashant Patil told the Free Press Journal.

“Hasan Mushrif went to the ED office to say that he will fully cooperate in its probe and to record his statement. He has been summoned by the ED to appear before the case officers on Wednesday.”

Mushrif was summoned on Monday

ED had earlier summoned Mushrif on Monday but he did not turn up. His lawyers submitted his request seeking more time to appear before the agency. Mushrif had also sought the HC’s directions for an audio-video recording of the ED proceedings, in case the summons did not get quashed. Mushrif had also urged the HC to direct the ED to not take any coercive action or file chargesheet in the case against him till the petition was decided.

NCP’s legislator from Kolhapur’s Kagal Assembly constituency, Mushrif had served as rural development minister in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

The ED’s case is linked to a probe related to alleged irregularities in the operation of a Kolhapur-based sugar mill, Sar Senapati Santaji Ghorpade Sugar Factory Limited, to which his three sons are linked. The ED had claimed suspicious transactions from two companies “without having substantial business” to Sar Senapati Santaji Ghorpade Sugar Factory Ltd, where Mushrif’s sons are directors or stakeholders. The ED had carried out searches at the factory premises and had issued summons to him to appear before the agency.

His petition was mentioned on Monday before a high court division bench by senior advocate Abaad Ponda and lawyer Patil. Citing the urgency, the counsels had said that the ED action came after the HC on Friday passed an interim order for no coercive action in the other case of cheating.

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