India, Jan. 24 -- Mumbai

A special court on Friday discharged NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal in an alleged money laundering case linked to financial irregularities in the construction of Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi and a housing project in Navi Mumbai.

Special judge Satyanarayan Navander said the prosecution under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) could not proceed in the absence of a subsisting "predicate offence", which it said is "akin to a tree without roots".

Besides Bhujbal, who is currently the food and civil supplies minister, his son Pankaj, nephew Sameer, former MP Sanjay Kakade, were among the 46 individuals and entities who were cleared from the case by the court. According to the probe agency, the proceeds of ...