A day after the apex court asked the former Mumbai Commissioner Param Bir Singh to approach Bombay High Court, finding his allegations against the
State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh ‘serious’, Singh filed a PIL in the Bombay HC seeking a CBI probe into “various corrupt malpractices” of the state home minister “before evidences are destroyed”.
His PIL said he was invoking the jurisdiction of the court to seek an unbiased and uninfluenced probe on the malpractices of Deshmukh. The confidence of the public is shaken at large by the acts and omissions of the Deshmukh, Singh said in his PIL and added that the issues involved have huge ramifications on the state administration and independence of police officials and give a serious jolt to the confidence of the public in the home minister’s office.
He reiterated the revelations made by him in his letter addressed to the CM in the aftermath of his transfer, in which he had alleged that Deshmukh had set a target for officers to extort Rs 100 crore every month. It also reiterated that Deshmukh was interfering in investigations and misusing his official position by calling junior officers like Sachin Vaze directly.
In the bomb scare case, he said there were five officers between Deshmukh and Vaze and him calling Vaze, which “directly smacks of malicious motives”. His plea also mentioned that in MP Mohan Delkar’s suicide case, the minister desired the case to be registered in Mumbai although nothing related to the abetment of suicide was found to have happened in Mumbai.
Singh said in his PIL that a CBI probe was warranted in such acts. He further said his transfer was “arbitrary” and “illegal” without completion of minimum fixed tenure. He said he reserved the right to challenge his transfer in appropriate proceedings.
Further, he said that if urgent steps were not taken, the CCTV footage at the residence of Deshmukh may be destroyed. He sought that directions be issued to any independent agency to take immediate custody of the entire CCTV footage of Deshmukh's residence.
As an interim relief, Singh sought that the HC issue urgent directions to the state government to produce the complete file containing the report of Rashmi Shukla, as Commissioner (Intelligence), and also the connected file of the home department with comments and communications. Shukla had, purportedly in August last year, brought to the notice of the DGP, who had informed the Additional Chief Secretary (Home), about malpractices in postings by Deshmukh. He claimed she was shunted out, instead of action being taken on her report.
He also sought that the HC issue a direction or order to ensure that transfer of posting of police officials were neither done on consideration of any pecuniary benefits to any politician nor in contravention of the SC guidelines on the same.