Respond to Anil Deshmukh’s bail plea: HC to ED

Deshmukh has approached the HC after the special PMLA court rejected his bail plea on March 14. The application will now come up for hearing on April 8

Mumbai: The Bombay high court (HC) on Friday directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to respond in a week to the bail application of former home minister Anil Deshmukh in the money laundering case.

The Bombay high court (HC) on Friday directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to respond in a week to the bail application of former home minister Anil Deshmukh in the money laundering case. (HT)

Deshmukh has approached the HC after the special PMLA court rejected his bail plea on March 14. The application will now come up for hearing on April 8.

When the bail application filed by Deshmukh through advocates Aniket Nikam and Inderpal Singh came up for hearing before single judge bench of justice Anuja Prabhudesai on Friday, ED sought three weeks to file a respond. The bench rejected the request and directed the central agency to file its response within a week.

Deshmukh’s application stated that his accuser, former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh, has warmed up to the central agency and hence has been given a red carpet welcome and a safe passage. The application also raises doubts on the credibility of the statements of Singh against whom there are several serious offences registered by the police.

Days after his removal as the Mumbai police commissioner, Param Bir Singh on March 20 last year had written a letter to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, accusing Deshmukh of instructing Sachin Vaze to collect ₹100 crore every month from restaurants and bars of Mumbai.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on April 21 last year registered a case against the NCP leader on the basis of Singh’s charges. Later, the ED too registered a money laundering case against Deshmukh, his son and others.

During interrogation by the ED, Vaze claimed that on Deshmukh’s instructions he had called a meeting of bar owners. Between December 2020 and February 2021, he had collected ₹4.7 crores from the owners of orchestra bars to avoid police interference. According to the ED, Vaze claimed he had handed over the money to Deshmukh’s personal assistant Kundan Shinde.