No Relief from SC to Maharashtra Government, Anil Deshmukh on CBI Probe into Extortion Charges
NEW DELHI, Apr 8: In a major setback to the Maharashtra government and its former home minister Anil Deshmukh, the Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed both their petitions challenging the Bombay High Court’s order for Central Bureau of Investigation probe into extortion racket terming the allegation to be of “serious” nature.
The Maharashtra government and Deshmukh had filed separate petitions challenging the high court’s order for CBI probe. The probe was ordered on a petition filed by the former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh accusing Deshmukh of having asked the now arrested former assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze of collecting Rs 100 crores a month through extortion.
Dismissing the two separate pleas, a bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hemant Gupta observed that the nature of allegations and people involved in the case needs an inquiry by an independent agency.
“Allegations are serious, the home minister and police commissioner are involved. They’re closely working together till they fall apart, both holding a particular position,” the bench said.
“We don’t want to interfere with the orders of High Court directing preliminary inquiry by CBI,” the bench said.
It is only preliminary enquiry, nothing is wrong in it when serious allegations are made by senior officer against a senior minister, the bench said when counsel for Deshmukh alleged that oral allegations were made without any substance and CBI probe was ordered without hearing him.
Petitions were filed by the Maharashtra government and Deshmukh earlier this week, challenging the Bombay High Court order.
In its plea, the state government questioned the procedure adopted by high court in passing the order. The state was heard on question of maintainability of the pleas seeking CBI investigation against Deshmukh and the order too was reserved on that issue but the court finally ended up directing the probe on April 5, the plea said.
Senior advocate and Congress leader Kapil Sibal, appearing for Deshmukh, said allegations against his client are only “hearsay” and have “no evidentiary value.” He insisted that Deshmukh should have been heard before the high court passed the order for CBI inquiry.
Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Maharashtra government said it was aggrieved by CBI probe as the consent for it was withdrawn by the state earlier.
To Sibal’s arguments the bench said it was only a preliminary enquiry and nothing was wrong in it when serious allegations are made by a senior officer against a senior minister. “It was not your (Deshmukh) enemy, who made the allegations against you but it was done by the one who was almost your right-hand man (Param Bir Singh).”
“The probe should be done against both,” Justice Kaul observed.
The court also observed that Deshmukh did not resign when the state set up a commission of enquiry but only after the high court’s order. “He was clinging to office,” the court said.
Terming the case as “unprecedented,” the Bombay High Court had directed the CBI to complete the preliminary inquiry within 15 days after which the CBI director would be at liberty to take a “further course of action” if prima facie the charge was established against the former home minister.
After the HC order, Deshmukh tendered his resignation saying he did not deem it ‘morally’ appropriate to hold the home ministerial post in view of CBI preliminary inquiry.
Following this, Deshmukh and Maharashtra government moved the top court with different pleas claiming that no facts were placed before the high court due to which ordering the CBI probe was not justified.
Singh had made the allegations three days after he was removed as Mumbai Police Commissioner and posted to the Home Guards. He had written an eight-page letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, alleging that Deshmukh had asked Vaze to collect Rs 100 crore every month, including Rs 40-50 crore from 1,750 bars and restaurants in Mumbai.
(Manas Dasgupta)
