Bombay HC rejects Anil Deshmukh’s plea to quash CBI's FIR against him
Deshmukh had sought FIR to be quashed and set aside as same being ‘arbitrary,’ ‘illegal’ and ‘malafide’ to ‘besmirch’ his position without any incriminating material.
FollowThe Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed former state home minister and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh‘s writ petition challenging the entire Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR on charges of bribery, corruption and criminal conspiracy.
A division bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar reserved for orders Deshmukh petition seeking quashing of the FIR on July 12, 2021.
It also rejected Maharashtra government’s plea challenging two unnumbered paragraphs in the FIR which pertained to the reinstatement of Sachin Waze and a report submitted by senior IPS officer Rashmi Shukla claiming that there was huge 'political interference' in police transfers and postings in the state.
Deshmukh had sought FIR to be quashed and set aside as same being ‘arbitrary,’ ‘illegal’ and ‘malafide’ to ‘besmirch’ his position without any incriminating material.
“The CBI can legitimately investigate transfers and posting connected to Anil Deshmukh and his associates, keeping in view the observation made in the Division Bench April 5 order,” the bench stated in its order.
The HC, however, disallowed the central agency to probe into the alleged political intervention in the transfers and postings of policemen in the state.
Pronouncing the verdict in state's plea, the judges said, "The agency can legitimately probe the reinstatement of Waze after 15 years only to the extent that it links with the probe in the Rs 100 crore corruption case against Deshmukh."
"We would like to clarify that our orders and the order that was passed by the bench of the chief justice, doesn't give unfettered authority to the CBI to probe transfers and postings of police, which isn't alleged or attributed to the then home minister," the judges clarified.
On April 5, a division bench of HC led by Chief Justice Dipankar Datta had termed the case to be “unprecedented,” and ordered a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) based on a complaint by lawyer Jaishri Patil, which referred to former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh’s March 20 letter to the Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray accusing Deshmukh and others of corruption.
On June 23, a division bench of Justice SS Shinde and Justice N J Jamadar had reserved the verdict on the state government’s petition and began a final hearing on Deshmukh’s plea on the same day, which it concluded on July 12.
Hours after the HC order, Deshmukh resigned from his post.
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