Maharashtra asks HC to quash two paras of CBI FIR against Deshmukh

MUMBAI: Maharashtra government has filed a petition before Bombay high court against the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to stay any probe or "roving inquiry'' into “reinstatement of Sachin Waze” and the cases entrusted to him.
The state wants the HC to quash, from the FIR against Anil Deshmukh former cabinet minister (home), two paragraphs that refer to reinstatement of Waze last year as Assistant police inspector of Mumbai police, him being assigned most of the "sensational cases’’ and alleged “exercise of undue influence” over transfers and postings.
The FIR is “clearly intended to carry out a fishing and roving inquiry into the administration of the state in order to find out some material enabling political grounds that are presently not in power in the state to try and destabilize’’ the present state government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the state added in its recently filed petition.
The first information report (FIR) invokes section 7 of Prevention of Corruption Act (public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act) and section 120B of Indian Penal Code for criminal conspiracy.
The CBI registered its FIR after HC directed it to conduct a preliminary inquiry into allegations of “corrupt malpractice’’ made by former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh as annexed in a complaint filed on March 21, by city advocate Jaishri Patil with the Malabar Hill police station.
Singh had in an 8-page letter to the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on March 20 alleged that Deshmukh--who had denied it--met with subordinate police officers including suspended Assistant police inspector Waze in February and asked for collection of Rs 100 crore.
On April 5, the HC bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish Kulkarni, after hearing a PIL filed by Singh and petition by Patil, others seeking a probe against Deshmukh had directed the preliminary inquiry.
The FIR by the CBI exceeds the “limits permitted’’ by the HC in its direction and to that extent is “malafide’’, said the state.
The two paras stated: Enquiry has revealed that Sachin Waze API, Mumbai police had been reinstated …after being off the police service for more than 15 years. Enquiry further revealed that Waze was entrusted with most of the sensational and important cases of Mumbai city police and that the then Home Minister was in knowledge of the fact.’’
The FIR then said in the next para that Singh’s petition mentions that Deshmukh and others “exercised undue influence over transfer and postings of officials and thereby exercising undue influence over the performance of duties by the officials.’’
The state said it is “most strange and shocking that the person who is responsible or who has himself done various acts…” mentioned in these paras of the FIR “relating to Sachin Vaze’’ “is not made an accused though a person who is allegedly ‘in knowledge of the said fact’’ is made an accused’’. “This aspect speaks volumes of the independence and fairness’’ that the HC expected from CBI.
The state said the “CBI has no authority’’ to register an FIR regarding ‘transfer and postings’ as alleged.
The HC had permitted CBI enquiry into the ‘letter’ of Singh and not into his “petition” in court and the letter makes no allegations regarding ‘transfer and postings of officials’ and ‘reinstatement of Sachin Vaze’ or the cases entrusted to him, said the state.
It said these averments in the FIR “relate to matters not stated” in Singh’s March 20 letter or Patil’s complaint and are not covered by the permission or direction of the HC to enquire into and hence “illegal’’ addition when, in law it lacks the jurisdiction to do so.
The state said the law mandates “consent of the state’’ to investigate certain offences. It pointed out that on October 21, 2020 the Maharashtra government had withdrawn its earlier 1989 consent to the CBI to have jurisdiction over any offence allegedly committed in the state.