The Maharashtra State co-operative bank scam came to light after a PIL was filed in Bombay High Court by four petitioners. The allegation by petitioners was that the various sugar mills had defaulted on loans worth crores after which banks attached the mills and auctioned them for cheap. In the auction process, the mills were sold to various office bearers which included some top politicians. Current Mah. Deputy CM & Finance Minister Ajit Pawar was one of the directors of the banks and had purchased some mills in the auction.