Mumbai: A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Friday held the dean of JJ Hospital, T.P. Lahane, guilty of contempt of court for the overstay of former deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal.
Judge P.R. Bhavake has transferred the matter to the Bombay High Court for initiating contempt proceedings against Mr. Lahane.
The judge had summoned Mr. Lahane in December after activist Anjali Damania moved court accusing the hospital and Arthur Road Jail authorities of negligence for allowing a fit 68-year-old to overstay at JJ Hospital.
According to Mr. Lahane, the Nationalist Congress Party leader was handed over to the jail authorities on November 2, 2016 and he had no role to play in his overstaying.
There was a violation of court orders in shifting Mr. Bhujbal from JJ Hospital to Bombay Hospital owing to bad health and for certain tests that allegedly needed to be performed. However, he was given preferential treatment at the hospital for over 40 days which led to contempt of court.
The former Public Works Department Minister was arrested by Enforcement Directorate on March 14, 2016 for money laundering, siphoning of funds and causing a loss of ₹840 crore to exchequer.
