The Bombay High Court granted interim protection to NCP leader and former minister Hasan Mushrif in an Enforcement Directorate case involving an alleged irregularity in a sugar factory on Tuesday.
The HC directed Mushrif to approach a special court which has been directed to decide on the matter expeditiously.
The ED’s case is linked to a probe related to alleged irregularities in the operation of a Kolhapur-based sugar mill, Sar Senapati Santaji Ghorpade Sugar Factory Limited, to which his three sons are linked.
Hasan Mushrif had approached the Bombay High Court on Monday seeking a quashing of the summons; in case it is not granted, he sought directions for audio-video recording of the proceedings. The politician urged the HC to direct the probe agency not to take coercive action against him until the petition is decided.
His petition was mentioned before a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Sharmila Deshmukh. The court had earlier said they will hear the case on March 14.
Mushrif said in his plea that ED ECIR is nothing but a result of a motivated conspiracy "indicating clear mala fides so as to negatively affect the ever-rising political career of the petitioner" The ED had carried out searches at the factory premises and issued a summons to him to appear before the agency on Monday.