Bombay HC puts ex-Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh's bail on hold
Moments after granting bail to Maharashtra's former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh in a corruption case, the Bombay High Court put it on hold for 10 days on Monday. This came after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)—which is probing the case—sought time to challenge it in the Supreme Court. A special CBI court rejected the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader's bail plea last month.
Why does this story matter?
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Deshmukh in a money laundering case in November 2021, and he has been in jail since. Later, the CBI arrested him in April 2022 in the aforementioned corruption case. Many saw his arrest as a political vendetta by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which came to power after the previous Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was toppled in June.
Got bail in ED case in October
Deshmukh is lodged in Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail under judicial custody. He was admitted to a private hospital in October for coronary angiography. Notably, he got bail in the ED case the same month, but his bail in the CBI case was rejected as the court observed there was prima facie evidence against him. He then moved the HC on medical grounds and merits.
What exactly is the case?
In March last year, former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh accused Deshmukh, then Maharashtra home minister, of giving police officers a "target" of collecting Rs. 100 crore every month from Mumbai's restaurants and bars. Following this, the ED, in its case against Deshmukh, alleged that he collected Rs. 4.7 crore from different restaurants and bars through Sachin Waze, a dismissed assistant police inspector.
Waze was dismissed without departmental inquiry
Last month, a special court granted bail to Waze in the ED case linked to Deshmukh. He was dismissed from service under Article 311 (2) (b) without a departmental inquiry. Known as an "encounter specialist," he is still in jail in cases relating to his alleged staging of a bomb threat near billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani's residence and Thane businessman Mansukh Hirani's murder.
