Mumbai court rejects pleas of Deshmukh, Nawab Malik for bail to vote in RS polls

Anil Deshmukh is arrested in connection with the corruption case against him, whereas Nawab Malik was arrested in connection with a money laundering case registered against fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar and some of his close associates.

A special court in Mumbai on Thursday rejected the plea of jailed former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh and minority affairs minister Nawab Malik seeking one day bail to vote in the Rajya Sabha elections scheduled to be held on Friday.

Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh was arrested in November last year. (HT photo)

Deshmukh was arrested in November last year in connection with the corruption case against him, whereas Malik was arrested in connection with a money laundering case registered against fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar and some of his close associates.

The Enforcement Directorate had opposed the bail pleas of both the NCP leaders, saying that prisoners don't have voting rights under the Representation of the People Act, adding that a person confined in prison cannot vote in any elections, "whether he is under sentence or an undertrial that doesn't make a difference".

The central probe agency had told the special PMLA court that Anil Deshmukh is the main accused in the money laundering case registered against him and is currently in judicial custody. According to ED, Deshmukh had allegedly misused his position as the home minister and collected ₹4.70 crore from various bars in Mumbai through some police officers.

Nawab Malik was arrested by the ED on February 23 this year in a money laundering case linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides.

The Rajya Sabha polls are extremely crucial for the Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP alliance. After more than two decades, Maharashtra will witness a contest in the Rajya Sabha polls as there are seven candidates in the fray for six seats.

The ruling Shiv Sena has fielded two candidates, its Maha Vikas Aghadi allies NCP and Congress have nominated one candidate each, while the opposition BJP has put up three candidates. The contest lies between BJP's Dhananjay Mahadik and Shiv Sena's Sanjay Pawar.