‘SC accepted my petition against ED; will appear once legal recourse is completed’: Anil Deshmukh

On Wednesday, the senior NCP leader skipped the summons issued by the ED in connection with the allegations of corruption and extortion against him.

After skipping multiple summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate in the alleged money laundering case, former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday issued a statement saying that the Supreme Court has accepted his petition against ED action which is expected to be heard very soon. The apex court has also given him the liberty to appeal in the lower court and he will appear before the ED after completing legal recourse.

File photo: Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh. ((HT archive)

“The Supreme Court has accepted my petition against the Enforcement Directorate’s action and is expected to hear the same very soon. The apex court also allowed me to appeal in the lower court. Once the process of legal recourse is completed, I will appear before the Enforcement Directorate and extend full cooperation. In my entire political and social life, I have always followed high standards,” said Deshmukh in a statement released on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the senior NCP leader skipped the summons issued by the ED in connection with the allegations of corruption and extortion against him. It was the fifth summons issued by the central investigation agency on Tuesday. The ED had issued fresh summons a day after the top court refused to grant any interim relief to Deshmukh.

The ED has registered a money laundering case against Deshmukh after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a first information report (FIR) against him on April 21. So far, Deshmukh has maintained that the allegations against him are false.

The central agency has alleged that while serving as the Maharashtra home minister, Deshmukh misused his position, and through assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze – who has now been dismissed and is in Taloja jail for his alleged role in the Antilia explosives scare and Mansukh Hiran murder case – collected ₹4.7 crore from Mumbai’s bars for their “smooth functioning”