A special court in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district has acquitted former state minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab in a case linked to alleged illegal construction of a resort and tax irregularities in Dapoli, reported the PTI.
Special Judge Prasanna S Chandgude, who hears Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) cases at Khed, delivered the verdict on Tuesday.
Apart from Parab, four others — village sarpanch Suresh Shankar Tupe, gramsevak Anant Dnyandev Koli, circle officer Sudhir Shantaram Pardule and sub-divisional officer Jayram Vinayak Deshpande — were also acquitted of all charges, according to the PTI.
The case stemmed from a complaint filed in 2021 by former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya.
The complaint alleged irregularities in property tax assessment and environmental violations related to the construction of a resort at Murud in Dapoli taluka of Ratnagiri district, the news agency reported.
According to the prosecution, the Murud gram panchayat had assessed property tax without confirming whether the building was fully completed.
It was also alleged that the resort construction had been permitted in a restricted Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ-III) area.
Claims of stamp duty evasion
The prosecution further claimed that two sale deeds related to the property did not mention the standing structure, allegedly causing a loss of more than Rs 25 lakh to the state government through lower stamp duty payments, according to the PTI.
Parab and others in the case were booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) related to cheating and forgery, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Court finds weaknesses in prosecution case
After reviewing the evidence, the court ruled that the prosecution had “miserably failed” to prove the corruption allegations, as per the PTI.
The judge noted several inconsistencies in the investigation and observed that the allegations mentioned in the FIR differed from those in the chargesheet.
The court in Ratnagiri also pointed out that complainant Kirit Somaiya, considered a key witness in the case, was not examined during the trial, the news agency reported.
The judge further observed that the allegations regarding illegal permissions in the CRZ-III area had not been proven.
(with PTI inputs)