The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the decks for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into allegations of extortion against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh, underscoring that “the nature of allegations and personas involved needs an inquiry by an independent agency”.
Terming the investigation “a matter of public confidence”, the bench headed by justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul dismissed petitions by Deshmukh and the Maharashtra government appealing against a Bombay high court order for a CBI probe passed on Monday.
The bench, which also included justice Hemant Gupta, emphasised during the hearing that the probe by an agency from outside the state was imperative since the personalities involved were the home minister of a state and a former police commissioner (Param Bir Singh).
“Will it not be a case of a CBI investigation when personas involved are home minister and a police commissioner? The two personas were closely working together till they fell apart. Both of them hold very important positions and that’s why an independent agency must inquire...it is not a case of a political or a business rivalry. It is a case between a very senior officer and a senior minister,” the bench told senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kapil Sibal, who represented the state government and Deshmukh, respectively.
The bench affirmed the high court order, which took note of accusations by former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh that Deshmukh asked policemen, including suspended officer Sachin Vaze, to extort ₹100 crore from bars, restaurants, and other establishments. The allegations followed drama over police investigations into the discovery of an explosives-laden vehicle outside the residence of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, and the alleged murder of a man linked to the car. Vaze is the main accused in both cases according to the national Investigating Agency.
{{/usCountry}}The bench affirmed the high court order, which took note of accusations by former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh that Deshmukh asked policemen, including suspended officer Sachin Vaze, to extort ₹100 crore from bars, restaurants, and other establishments. The allegations followed drama over police investigations into the discovery of an explosives-laden vehicle outside the residence of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, and the alleged murder of a man linked to the car. Vaze is the main accused in both cases according to the national Investigating Agency.
{{/usCountry}}The top court also took a critical view of the fact that the Mumbai Police did not register an FIR following Singh’s allegations and Deshmukh chose not to step down after a judicial inquiry was initiated under a retired high court judge.
“Everything happened at the time when he (Deshmukh) was the home minister. The allegations were levelled when he was the home minister. He battled it out till the high court order was passed. He didn’t even resign after the judicial inquiry was ordered. He resigned only after the high court order. This shows that he was clinging to his office,” said the bench, rejecting an argument that there was no need for an outside agency to probe the matter now that Deshmukh has resigned.
Deshmukh resigned on Monday, hours after the order by the high court asking CBI to conclude a preliminary inquiry within 15 days, making him the most high-profile casualty so far in a case that started with the discovery of the explosives and the death of Mansukh Hiran, the man linked to the car.
On Thursday, Deshmukh’s lawyer Sibal questioned the propriety of the high court order, saying he would be very happy if the Supreme Court lays down a legal principle that a CBI probe should take place in every case involving allegations against high officials, even if these are unsubstantiated and based on hearsay.
But the bench retorted: “We will also be very happy if we don’t come across a case where a police commissioner raises such allegations against a home minister...he was once your right hand and now he made these allegations. Let an independent agency look at it now. If you are clear, you are clear.”
The Maharashtra government argued that it had withdrawn general consent to CBI to probe matters in the state, and the high court order would impact the “federal structure”.
However, the judges remained unmoved: “There is no issue of federalism here. It is a particular episode and it doesn’t happen every day. So, there is no question of federal structure. They both have been heads of important institutions where things have gone seriously wrong.”
The bench further rejected a request by Nationalist Congress Party leader Deshmukh and the Maharashtra government to hand over the probe to a special investigation team that could be picked by the top court. “You cannot pick and choose the agency that should probe,” it said.
Responding to Sibal’s objection that his client (Deshmukh) was not even heard by the high court before the order was passed, the apex court said that there was no such requirement in law to hear Deshmukh at this stage since the order was only for a preliminary enquiry.
Senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi was present in the court to represent Singh but he was not required to argue since the bench passed its final order after hearing the counsel for Deshmukh and the Maharashtra government.
CBI on Tuesday night registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) into the episode and examined Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil, one of the petitioners before the high court whose plea led to the order. On Thursday, it recorded the statements of Singh, ACP Sanjay Patil, and Vaze.