Kalina library graft case: Chhagan Bhujbal acquitted, other accused also cleared
A special court has acquitted NCP leader and state minister Chhagan Bhujbal and all co-accused in the Mumbai University Kalina library corruption case
State minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal has got major relief in the high-profile Kalina library case in Mumbai. On Thursday, September 24, 2026, a special court acquitted Bhujbal in the alleged corruption case linked to the contract and land deal for Mumbai University's central library. The other accused in the case have also been acquitted by the court.
The case dates back to when Chhagan Bhujbal was the Public Works Department minister. During that time, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had alleged irregularities in a deal involving a Mumbai University plot in the Kalina area. The ACB said the plot was given to a private developer on a long-term lease at a very low rate, and that the entire process involved financial irregularities. In this case, the ACB had registered a case against Bhujbal as well as officials posted in the Public Works Department at the time.
It is also important to understand the origin of the case. There was a plan to build a central library on the plot at Mumbai University's Kalina campus. The Public Works Department had started the contract process for this project. But the ACB alleged that after building the library on part of the plot, the remaining land was given to a private developer for 99 years at a very low rate. According to some reports, the investigating agency had said this rate was as low as one rupee per square metre.
It was also alleged in the case that a trust linked to Bhujbal received money from the private company. The investigating agency claimed these transactions were connected to the alleged contract process. However, Bhujbal and the other accused had denied these allegations from the start.
After the hearing in the case was completed, the special court acquitted Chhagan Bhujbal and all the other accused. The court's full and detailed order has not yet come out, so the exact reasons behind the acquittal are not clear at present.
The verdict gives Bhujbal another major legal relief. It has also raised hopes of relief for him in other pending corruption cases with the ACB linked to his tenure as Public Works Department minister.
