Maharashtra Government’s Petition Dismissed In Supreme Court

Maharashtra government’s petition was dismissed in Supreme Court, Anil Deshmukh’s case was sought to be investigated by SIT.

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the Maharashtra government’s petition.

In this petition, it was asked to transfer the investigation of former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh’s case from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to the SIT.

A bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul dismissed the Maharashtra government’s plea against the Bombay High Court order.

The Maharashtra government, in its petition, had demanded the investigation of Home Minister Deshmukh’s case by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

According to the petitioner, at that time the present Director of CBI was heading the Maharashtra Police Force and was directly taking decisions related to the appointment and transfer of police officers.

Therefore, it cannot be tested properly. Deshmukh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in November last year and is currently in judicial custody.

Earlier, Special Judge RN Rokade rejected his bail plea. The judge said that prima facie there is sufficient evidence to believe that Anil Deshmukh was involved in the money laundering case.

He said there are contradictions in the statements of the witnesses, but they cannot be considered at this stage (on the bail plea).

This was Deshmukh’s first regular bail plea. Earlier, his bail plea filed on technical grounds was rejected by the special court.

Senior National Congress Party leader Deshmukh is currently in judicial custody in a money laundering case.

Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh had alleged that when Deshmukh was the Home Minister, he had asked select police officers in Mumbai to extort Rs 100 crore per month from restaurants and bars.

However, Deshmukh had denied these allegations. The CBI had registered an FIR against Deshmukh after a preliminary investigation.