In a setback to former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh and the state government, the Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed Maharashtra government’s plea seeking directions to set aside two “unnumbered paragraphs” from the corruption FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on April 21 against former state home minister and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh and other unknown persons.
It also dismissed Anil Deshmukh’s writ petition challenging the entire CBI FIR on charges of bribery, corruption and criminal conspiracy.
“The Investigation Agency (CBI), in our view can legitimately inquire into the aspect of transfers and postings of police officers so also reinstatement of Sachin Waze in Police force after 15 years, to the extent those transfers and postings have nexus with alleged offences against the then home minister and his associates, keeping in view the observation made in the Division Bench April 5 order,” the bench noted.
“Conversely, the order of the division bench cannot be construed as giving an unfettered authority to CBI to inquire into transfers and postings of the police officers generally, which do not reflect upon the alleged acts and conduct expressly attributed to the former home minister and his confederates. We part with this judgement with assurance that officers of CBI, a premier investigating agency, are and must be fully allowed to take their responsibilities. And duty of police constituted under either state enactment or special Act, is to serve none but the law,” the HC added.
“In such nature of the duty, which the police discharge in society governed by rule of law, I hold it to be the duty of the Commissioner of Police, as it is of every chief constable to enforce law of land, he must take steps so to post his men so that crimes may be detected and that honest citizens may go about their work and affairs in peace. He must decide whether or not suspected persons are to be prosecuted and if need be, bring the prosecution to see that he is not a servant of anyone but the law itself,” Justice Shinde added.
The bench clarified “by way of abundant caution,” that ‘the observations hereinabove are made for the limited purpose for adjudicating challenge in present petition by the state and same will have no bearing on determination of other petitions’ pending before it’.
The state government sought continuation of CBI’s statement for two weeks that it will not act on letters it had sent to state seeking documents including a letter/report by Rashmi Shukla, alleging undue political interference in postings and transfers of officers.
The CBI opposed the request and the court vacated the interim statement. The state government also sought stay on operation of the judgement to approach the Supreme Court, which was resisted by CBI. “Since we’ve dismissed the plea by recording adequate reasons, we don’t think it expedient to stay the effect and operation of this judgement,” the HC said.
Moreover, Deshmukh’s counsel senior advocate Amit Desai sought stay on the operation of the judgement to approach SC. The Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta opposed the same and said no interim relief was pending in the petition. The court, thereon, rejected the request to stay operation of the judgement.
Deshmukh had sought the CBI FIR to be quashed and set aside as the same being ‘arbitrary,’ ‘illegal’ and ‘malafide’ to ‘besmirch’ his position without any incriminating material.
A division bench of Justice S S Shinde and Justice N J Jamadar had reserved the verdict on the state government’s petition on June 23 and began a final hearing on Deshmukh’s plea on the same day, which it concluded on July 12.
Terming the case to be “unprecedented,” a division bench of HC led by Chief Justice Dipankar Datta on April 5 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. Hours after the HC order, Deshmukh resigned from his post.
Three days after he was removed as Mumbai Police Commissioner and posted to the Home Guards, Singh, on March 20, wrote a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray alleging that Deshmukh asked suspended and arrested assistant police inspector Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore every month, including Rs 40-50 crore from 1,750 bars and restaurants in Mumbai.
After completion of PE, the central agency registered an FIR against Deshmukh and unknown others. The state government moved a plea challenging portions of the FIR on April 30, whereas Deshmukh moved the High Court challenging the entire FIR on May 3.
The CBI, in May this year, had made a statement that it will not act on letters it had sent to state seeking documents including a letter/report by Rashmi Shukla, alleging undue political interference in postings and transfers of officers. The statement was also reiterated from time to time.
One of the paragraphs from the FIR that the Maharashtra government challenged stated that “the central agency in its Preliminary Enquiry (PE) had found that former state home minister Anil Deshmukh was aware of the reinstatement of now suspended and arrested assistant police inspector (API) Sachin Waze into the police after 15 years and sensitive and sensational cases being given to Waze for investigation”.
Waze is being probed by the NIA for his alleged role in the Ambani house terror scare case and the murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran.
The second “unnumbered paragraph” stated that Deshmukh and others exercised “undue influence” over the transfer and postings of police officers.
While Senior advocate Rafique Dada and advocate Akshay Shinde represented the Maharashtra government in its plea, senior counsel Amit Desai and advocates Kamlesh Ghumre and Sonali Jadhav represented Deshmukh. Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta along with Additional Solicitor Generals (ASGs) Aman Lekhi and Anil Singh represented CBI.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/bombay-hc-verdict-anil-deshmukh-7416402/
