A Pune court on Saturday granted bail to Milind Deshmukh, the former secretary of the Servants of India Society (SIS), in connection with a case of alleged financial misappropriation.
Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) AA Pande approved Deshmukh’s bail application, setting a surety amount of ₹50,000.
Defence lawyer Ujjwala Pawar, representing Deshmukh, had on Wednesday questioned the timing of his arrest, pointing out that it was made even before a forensic audit could be conducted into the alleged misappropriation of ₹1.42 crore at the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE), which is affiliated with SIS.
Pawar, while seeking bail, referred to the official audit reports of GIPE for the financial years 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24. She argued that these reports clearly showed no financial irregularities in the transactions, which included ₹1.02 crore transferred to the Nagpur district collector towards converting a leasehold land parcel owned by SIS into freehold property, and ₹40 lakh for related expenses.
The defence maintained that while the joint charity commissioner holds the authority to initiate special audits in specific cases, in this instance, the commissioner had already accepted the audit reports without raising any objections, as no misappropriation was found.
Pawar further argued that the case stemmed from a civil financial dispute supported by documentary evidence and that no offence of cheating or misappropriation had been committed by Deshmukh as alleged. She also contended that complainant Vishal Gaikwad filed the FIR despite no evidence suggesting Deshmukh was responsible for carrying out the fund transfers, especially since Gaikwad had only been appointed as deputy registrar on April 4, 2025 — after the transactions had reportedly taken place.
{{/usCountry}}Pawar further argued that the case stemmed from a civil financial dispute supported by documentary evidence and that no offence of cheating or misappropriation had been committed by Deshmukh as alleged. She also contended that complainant Vishal Gaikwad filed the FIR despite no evidence suggesting Deshmukh was responsible for carrying out the fund transfers, especially since Gaikwad had only been appointed as deputy registrar on April 4, 2025 — after the transactions had reportedly taken place.
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