Mumbai, Sep 9 (IANS): In a huge relief for Maharashtra Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, his son Pankaj and nephew Sameer, they and five others were on Thursday discharged by a special court for "lack of evidence" in the alleged corruption cases pertaining to the Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi and other projects.

Special Judge H.S. Satbhai, in his July order, has also discharged former PWD engineer Arun Devdhar, construction firm K.S. Chamankar Ent officials Prasanna Chamankar, Krishna Chamankar, Praveena Chamankar and Praneeta Chamankar, in the case filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

The ACB case related to the 2005 deal entered with the firm K.S. Chamankar Ent, without calling for tenders when Chhagan Bhujbal was the PWD Minister in the then Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance Democratic Front government in the state.

The Bhujbals had sought discharge on grounds that there was "no evidence" to prosecute them and all the allegations levelled against them in the ACB case were fake, based on wrong calculations and assumptions.