Eknath Khadse land grab case: Pune lawyer issues notice to ED

ED sent ‘unauthorised’ person to collect photocopies of case documents, says Asim Sarode

While it is the Enforcement Directorate (ED) which knocks doors and issues notices over financial misdemeanours, noted Pune-based lawyer-activist Asim Sarode has slapped a notice on the ED.

According to Mr. Sarode, the ED had requested him to hand over documents in the alleged land grab case involving former Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse soon after the former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader changed his political colours to join Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

However, Mr. Sarode, who had taken photocopies of the case documents, claims that the ED had sent an ‘unauthorised’ person to collect them and that the agency had not paid him. “I received a phone call in December last year from a certain Mr. Rajesh Kumar, Assistant Director [MBZO-II], ED office, Mumbai, in which the latter said he wanted the case documents pertaining to Mr. Khadse’s alleged land grab handed over without delay. Accordingly, it was agreed that the ED would bear the costs of photocopying the 1,350 documents, which altogether came to ₹1,440,” said Mr. Sarode.

However, on January 5, a certain person, who, while admitting that he was not an officer from the ED, nevertheless said that he was ‘authorised’ by the agency to collect the case documents turned up at the lawyer’s office. “He did not have any assignment letter with him. When I demanded that he show his identity card, he called up Mr. Kumar. After taking what seemed to be some instructions from the ED Assistant Director, he left abruptly giving an absurd excuse that there were media people in my office… This casual approach of collection of documents on part of a top investigative agency was not appropriate behaviour,” Mr. Sarode said, adding that he had accordingly sent a notice to the ED demanding the payment of the photocopies.

In 2019, Mr. Sarode, on behalf of anti-corruption activist Anjali Damania had filed an intervention application challenging the ‘clean chit’ given by the Maharashtra anti-corruption bureau (ACB) to Mr. Khadse concerning a prime plot of land belonging to the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) in Pune’s Bhosari area that he had allegedly acquired by abusing his position as revenue minister in the erstwhile BJP-led government.

In 2018, in its final submission to a Pune court, the ACB had said that it failed to find “definite proof” that Mr. Khadse had misused his office as to illicitly seize a three-acre plot in the possession of the MIDC for his private use near the sprawling township of Pimpri-Chinchwad.