Balganga Dam Irrigation Scam: Questions Raised Over Transfer Of Trial Judge

The sudden transfer of the high-profile criminal case linked to the Balganga Dam irrigation scam from one judge to another has triggered debate and speculation within legal circles.

Questions are being raised over the timing and circumstances under which the trial judge was changed, particularly as the case had recently begun moving forward after years of delay.

The multi-crore irrigation scam was investigated by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which filed a chargesheet in 2016 against contractor Nisar Khatri and several government officials associated with the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC). The chargesheet runs into nearly 30,000 pages. According to the ACB, the alleged irregularities caused a loss of more than ₹92 crore to the state exchequer.

Despite the seriousness of the allegations, the case saw little progress for several years. Charges could not be framed in a special court in Thane, and the trial remained stalled.

In 2025, Special Judge G. T. Pawar framed charges against all accused and formally initiated the trial, raising expectations that the long-pending case would finally proceed.

However, in December 2025, the main accused, Nisar Khatri, filed an application before the Principal District Judge, Thane, seeking transfer of the case from Judge Pawar. The plea was strongly rejected by Principal District Judge S. B. Agrawal, who termed the application baseless and imposed a fine of ₹20,000 on Khatri.

Despite this judicial rejection, the case has now been reassigned through an administrative order from Judge G. T. Pawar to Judge Durgaprasad Deshpande.

The transfer has drawn attention because it comes shortly after the accused’s request for a judge change was dismissed and penalised. Legal experts note that administrative transfers are part of routine judicial functioning, but in the backdrop of a rejected transfer plea, the timing has raised questions.

The controversy is further compounded by the state government’s decision not to challenge a Bombay High Court order passed in October 2025, which directed the government to pay ₹303 crore to Nisar Khatri in connection with the Balganga Dam project. The matter was not appealed before the Supreme Court.

The Balganga irrigation scam has also had significant political ramifications. At the time the allegations surfaced, the issue severely dented the image of the then Congress–NCP government. Devendra Fadnavis, who was then Leader of the Opposition and is now Chief Minister, had repeatedly highlighted the case as an example of large-scale corruption.

With the criminal trial still pending in Thane, the transfer of the case from one judge to another — even if described as an administrative process — is likely to fuel renewed legal, political, and public debate.