Shiv Sena UBT MLA Rajan Salvi’s wife and son get interim protection in corruption case
Bombay HC grants interim protection to Shiv Sena MLA Rajan Salvi's wife and son until April 2 in a case of alleged disproportionate assets worth ₹3 crore.
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has granted interim protection from arrest to Shiv Sena MLA Rajan Salvi’s wife, Anuja, and son, Shubham, until April 2, contingent upon their appearance before the investigating agency and submission of supporting documents for their case.
They are required to appear before the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Raigad, every day from March 4 to March 8 between 1 pm and 5pm and cooperate with the investigators.
Anuja and Shubham Salvi have moved the high court, seeking anticipatory bail in the case registered against them for allegedly possessing disproportionate assets of nearly ₹3 crore.
Salvi, representing the Rajapur assembly constituency since 2019, and his wife Anuja and son Shubham, face allegations of misusing power to acquire properties worth nearly ₹2.2 crore between October 2009 and December 2022.
The ACB’s investigation revealed that the trio allegedly spent around ₹4.45 crores, with Salvi’s wife and son appropriating nearly ₹3 crores, surpassing his known source of income by 119%, constituting a crime under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The ACB has named Salvi’s wife and son as abettors, prompting them to seek anticipatory bail. They moved the high court after the sessions court rejected their pleas.
Salvi’s counsels argued that the funds accrued to them can be traced back to legitimate businesses. Anuja Salvi received money from her typing centre, mango, and railway ticket booking businesses, while Shubham accrued money through his labour contract business.
The Chief Public Prosecutor, representing the agency, stated that an open inquiry was conducted for a year, during which the Salvis were given an opportunity to substantiate their income with documents. However, they failed to provide any documents to validate their income claims, leading to an FIR.
According to the agency, Anuja’s assets were found to be 297% higher than her known sources of income. Similarly, Rajan Salvi had 54.9% higher assets than his known source of income, while Shubham had 721% higher assets than his known source of income. Investigations revealed that the lenders themselves had no visible sources of income.
After hearing both sides, a bench of Justice Sarang Kotwal extended the protection on condition that Anuja and Shubham would appear before investigators and cooperate with them.