Anil Deshmukh's bail plea rejected in money laundering case
A special court in Mumbai on Tuesday rejected the default bail petition filed by Anil Deshmukh, the former Home Minister of Maharashtra. Special Judge RN Rokade pronounced the order, which was reserved on Friday. Deshmukh, 71, a leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), was arrested on November 2, 2021, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case.
- The court verdict might be seen as a setback for Deshmukh, whose arrest last year attracted widespread attention.
- The row erupted after former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh accused the leader of corruption.
- Deshmukh was accused of extorting money from bars, restaurants, and hookah parlors in Mumbai. He had allegedly asked police officials to collect Rs. 100 crore every month through illegal means.
This marked Deshmukh's first bail petition since his arrest in the case. He had approached the special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on January 4, arguing the court had not taken cognizance of the chargesheet within the stipulated period. ED, on the other hand, opposed the plea saying the chargesheet had been filed before the deadline.
Under Section 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), an accused is entitled to seek bail if no chargesheet is filed within the stipulated period provided for investigation. In this case, that period was 60 days.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered a case against Deshmukh in April, the same month when he resigned as Maharashtra's Home Minister. Later, the ED also registered a case against him and conducted searches on properties linked to him. On October 29, the Bombay High Court had rejected the former Minister's petition to quash multiple summonses issued by the ED against him.
