SC asks ex-Mumbai top cop to move HC over allegations against Anil Deshmukh
The Supreme Court on Wednesday (March 24) asked former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh to move the Mumbai High Court on his petition seeking a CBI probe into allegations of corruption against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.
“The petitioner is making some allegations and the minister too is making allegations…we don’t see why you should not approach the high court…we have no doubt the matter is quite serious, affecting the administration at large…liberty granted to approach HC,” a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Subhash Reddy said.
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Refusing to entertain Singh’s plea, the apex court asked two questions to the petitioner – why a petition has been filed under Article 32 before the Supreme Court instead of one being filed before the High Court under Article 226; and why Deshmukh against whom the allegations have been levelled is not a party to the case.
Singh in his petition alleged that Deshmukh asked assistant police inspector Sachin Waze, who is currently under suspension, to collect ₹100 crore every month, interfered in investigations and put pressure on him to implicate BJP leaders in the suicide of Dadra and Nagar Haveli MP Mohan Delkar. Singh has also accused the Home Minister of engaging in corruption in transfers and postings.
“Each such act of Shri Anil Deshmukh in abuse of the official position of the Home Minister, whether in calling and directly instructing the police officers of lower rank such as Shri Vaze (Waze) or Shri Patil for his malicious intent of extorting money from establishments across Mumbai and from other souces, or whether in interfering in the investigations and directing the same to be conducted in a particular manner, or whether indulging in corrupt malpractices in posting/transfers of officers, cannot be countenanced or justified in any democratic State. Fair CBI investigation is thus warranted in each of such acts of Shri Anil Deshmukh in abuse of the official position of the Home Minister,” Singh said in his petition as quoted by LiveLaw.
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The former police commissioner also made the same allegations in a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray after he was recently transferred to the Maharashtra Home Guards in the middle of investigations into the bomb scare outside industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence.
