Supreme Court dismisses Anil Deshmukh’s plea seeking quashing of CBI FIR against him

Supreme Court said that no case for interference with the high court verdict is made out and observed that there is no error in the Bombay HC judgement.

In a fresh setback for NCP leader and former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh, the Supreme Court today dismissed his plea seeking to quash the FIR lodged against him by the CBI in the corruption case. Hearing the plea, a bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and M R Shah dismissed the appeal against the July 22 order of the Bombay High Court. The court said that no case for interference with the high court verdict is made out and observed that there is no error in the Bombay HC judgement.

The Bombay High Court had refused to quash the FIR registered against Deshmukh on July 22 saying the CBI’s probe was ongoing and any interference by the court at this stage was uncalled for.

The Supreme Court also dismissed a plea by the Maharashtra government which sought to set aside two paragraphs from the CBI’s FIR against Deshmukh related to the transfer and posting of police officers by him.

The apex court said that it cannot dilute the direction of a constitutional court ordering a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe by drawing a line for the agency on which aspect the investigation should be done.

The top court also noted that an impression is being created that the Maharashtra government is trying to protect the former home minister. The case is related to the transfer and posting of various police officers including the reinstatement of now dismissed additional police inspector Sachin Waze.

The apex court also observed that the Maharashtra government should allow a free and fair probe by the CBI.

Notably, Sachin Waze is in NIA custody in the case related to the parking of an explosive-laden vehicle outside Mukesh Ambani’s house and the alleged murder of the owner of the vehicle Mansukh Hiren. Waze had written a letter to the NIA alleging that Deshmukh had asked him to collect Rs 100 crore every month from Mumbai’s bars and restaurants. The same claim was made by former Mumbai commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh in a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

Deshmukh had resigned from the cabinet after the HC directed the CBI to conduct a probe into the allegations of corruption and misconduct levelled against him.