The Bombay High Court on Friday directed the Pune Police's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) not to file a charge sheet against former Maharashtra Revenue Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Eknath Khadse in the 2016 Pune land deal case till March. . 

A division bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice PK Chavan gave the direction while hearing a plea by Khadse who claimed that in April 2018, the ACB had filed a closure report in the case, stating that the charges against him were There is no substance in the allegations but after a change of government in the state, the anti-corruption agency sought to reopen the case in June 2022.

As soon as the government changes, in 2022, the ACB sought permission for re-investigation. Let us tell you that after the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the year 2022, Shiv Sena rebels under the leadership of current Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Formed a new government. NCP was part of the MVA government. The petition states that in July 2022, the ACB changed its stand after the change of government and filed an application before the sessions court for further investigation into the matter. 

In October 2022, the Pune sessions court allowed the ACB to investigate the case and the C-summary report (closure report) was withdrawn. The bench on Friday directed the ACB to file an affidavit in response to Khadse's plea and posted the matter for further hearing in March.

Serious allegations were leveled against Khadse, after this the case was transferred to ACB. Khadse was alleged to have misused his power as a minister and bought land owned by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) in Pune's Bhosari area in the name of his wife and son-in-law for Rs 3.75 crore against its market value . 40 crores The 70-year-old politician has denied any wrongdoing. He had resigned from the then Devendra Fadnavis cabinet in 2016 after facing allegations regarding a land deal.