A court in Maharashtra’s Khed has acquitted Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) member of legislative council Anil Parab and four others in a corruption case related to a resort in Dapoli. The court found contradictions in the prosecution’s case and an absence of evidence of bribery.

The judgment, delivered on May 5 by judge Prasanna S Chandgude, dismissed charges of cheating, forgery and misconduct. The case stemmed from a 2021 complaint by Kirit Somaiya, who was a member of Parliament, about a resort built in a coastal regulation zone (CRZ-III) at Murud in Dapoli.

The anti-corruption bureau (ACB) charged Mr. Parab, sarpanch Suresh Tupe, gramsevak Anant Koli, circle officer Sudhir Pardule, and sub-divisional officer Jayram Deshpande. The prosecution alleged that the group conspired to assess property taxes on a building that was not complete, and cheated the state by evading stamp duty during the property sale. The chargesheet later added that the accused paid less stamp duty by not mentioning existing construction in two sale deeds.

The court pointed to contradictions in the State’s claims. “The prosecution on one hand alleged that without there being construction or incomplete construction the taxes were assessed and at the same time it is alleged that sale deeds were made without showing construction,” the court said.

On the allegation of stamp duty evasion, the court recognised the concept of dual ownership under the Indian Easements Act. It noted that land may belong to one person and the superstructure to another. Witness testimony established that the hotel was constructed and funded by Sadanand Kadam between 2017 and 2019. “The building was not owned or constructed by Parab… there was no question of paying less stamp duty than required,” the court concluded.

The court also dismissed bribery charges against the public servants. The prosecution had alleged that some accused officials accepted gratification to grant non-agricultural (NA) permissions in a CRZ-III zone. However, the court found that they had processed the application by seeking opinions from town planning authorities. “No witness has been examined by the prosecution to show that gratification was given to the accused. There is no evidence on record that the accused have pecuniary resources or property disproportionate to their own sources of income,” the court held.

The court acquitted all five accused of all charges. Prosecutor M.M. Jadkar appeared for the state. Advocate S.S. Butala appeared for Mr. Parab.