The Bombay High Court has disposed of a petition challenging the transfer of a criminal case against Girish Mahajan, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Maharashtra’s Rural Development Minister, to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The court directed the petitioner to pursue appropriate legal recourse in the trial court, following the CBI’s closure of the case in 2023.
The petition was filed by Vijay Bhaskarrao Patil, director of the Jalgaon Jilka Maratha Vidya Prasarak Sahakari Samaj, an educational society. It stems from a 2020 case where Mahajan and 28 others were accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). Charges included grievous hurt, kidnapping, extortion, theft, and criminal trespass. Patil alleged that Mahajan coerced him into selling his educational society, leading to the initial FIR at Nimbhora Police Station in Jalgaon, which was later transferred to Kothrud Police Station in Pune.
On July 22, 2022, the Maharashtra Home Department, under then Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, recommended a CBI investigation into Mahajan’s actions. The CBI, however, closed the investigation on December 23, 2023, finding the allegations unsubstantiated.
Arguing against the state’s decision to transfer the investigation, Patil claimed it was illegal, arbitrary, and a violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution. He requested the high court to quash the transfer and sought a stay on the ongoing investigation by the Kothrud police.
Representing the CBI, Additional Public Prosecutor Konde Deshmukh and for the state, Special Public Prosecutor Amit Munde contended that Patil’s petition no longer had merit since the CBI had already concluded its investigation. They advised that Patil could file a protest petition in the Pune court.
