‘Deputy CM’ Ajit Pawar To Get Back 1,000 Crore Properties Seized By IT

Ajit Pawar is set to get back over Rs 1,000 crore of properties seized from him and his family in 2021 with the Income Tax (IT) Department clearing the property.

Pawar who led the bifurcation of NCP and became deputy CM of Maharashtra will continue with the post for a second consecutive term under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Notably, Eknath Shinde, the last CM will also share the deputy post with Pawar.

The Income Tax Department cleared the gargantuan properties seized from Pawar and his family in 2021 after the allegations against Pawar and his family of owning ‘Benami’ properties were dismissed by the Prevention of Benami Property Transactions Appellate Tribunal.

The IT Department raided several properties linked to Pawar and his family on October 7, 2021, including a sugar factory in Satara, a flat in Delhi, and a resort in Goa.

However, the department failed to provide sufficient evidence connecting the properties to benami transactions, leading to the tribunal dismissing the case.

“There is no evidence to suggest that Ajit Pawar or his family transferred funds to acquire benami properties...it's not that Ajit Pawar, Sunetra Pawar, and Parth Pawar transferred funds to procure benami properties,” it was quoted as saying by NDTV.

Representing Ajit Pawar, advocate Prashant Patil welcomed the decision asserting that the transactions were conducted through legitimate financial channels, including the banking system, and that there were no irregularities in the records. “The allegations had no legal standing, and the family has not done anything wrong,” Patil stated.

New Government in Maharashtra

The development comes amidst the new government formation in Maharashtra. BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the Chief Minister for the third time in a ceremony at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan, with Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde taking oath as Deputy Chief Ministers. In the recent elections, the Mahayuti alliance of BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP secured 230 seats in the 288-member assembly.

Also Read: Devendra Fadnavis Sworn in as Maharashtra CM; Shinde, Pawar as Deputies