Money-laundering case: Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh denied bail

Anil Deshmukh's lawyer argued that his client should not be granted a 'default bail' in the case. The former Minister was imprisoned for more than 60 days.

Anil Deshmukh, former Maharashtra Home Minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader, was denied bail in a money-laundering case in a Mumbai court on Tuesday.  Deshmukh was arrested on November 2 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which said he was the primary recipient of suspected payments collected from bar owners by fired police officer Sachin Waze between December 2020 and March 2021.

On December 29, the ED filed a supplemental chargesheet against Deshmukh. The former minister claimed that, with the exception of the first remand, the mandatory term of 60 days had passed without the court taking cognizance of the charge sheet filed on December 27, 2021, and pronouncing the investigation complete. The ED objected to the plea, claiming that the charge sheet had been filed within the time limit. Deshmukh's appeal was denied by Special Judge R N Rokade. 

The former Minister was imprisoned for more than 60 days in connection with the Maha Vasooli scandal. Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh levelled extortion accusations against Anil Deshmukh in an 8-page letter written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Singh alleged in the letter that the NCP leader had instructed Mumbai API Sachin Vaze to extort Rs.100 crore per month from 1,750 Mumbai pubs, restaurants, and other enterprises. Deshmukh resigned as Home Minister when the Supreme Court asked the CBI to conduct a preliminary investigation into the charges, and Dilip Walse-Patil took his position.