A special court, on July 11, rejected default bail plea filed by former State Home Minister and Cabinet Minister of Nationalist Congress Party leader Anil Deshmukh in a corruption case against him. Special judge S. H. Gwalani dismissed the plea.
Mr. Deshmukh had applied for default bail contending that the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) charge sheet is incomplete and therefore the investigation was not completed.
However, CBI's counsel additional solicitor general Anil Singh argued that the charge sheet was complete as it had named Mr. Deshmukh as an accused and listed out the charges.
The case dates back to March 20, 2021 when former police commissioner of Mumbai Param Bir Singh wrote to the then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray accusing Mr. Deshmukh of abusing his position and powers to seek illegal monetary benefits. The letter cited instances of Mr. Deshmukh allegedly directing dismissed police officer Sachin Vaze and others to collect ₹100 crore from bars and restaurants over a month.
The Bombay High Court on April 5, 2021 had directed a preliminary inquiry against Mr. Deshmukh by the CBI. Soon thereafter, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) stepped in and started conducting a probe into allegations of money laundering against him.
On April 21, 2021, an FIR was registered against Mr. Deshmukh under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 7 (public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. He was arrested by the ED on November 2, 2021 and has been lodged at Arthur Road jail.
