The Vaze case fallout
By Venkatesh Raghavan
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court today directed the nodal investigative agency, Central Bureau of Investigation to conduct a preliminary investigation into the extortion and corruption charges levelled against Maharashtra Home Minister, Anil Deshmukh by former city top cop Param Bir Singh. After having come under a cloud, the Deshmukh has resigned and is replaced by Excise and Labour Minister Dilip Walse Patil – a six-time MLA from Nationalist Congress Party.
Acting on the Public Interest Litigation filed on the basis of Singh’s allegations, the court responded, stating, in the absence of a FIR, it cannot proceed with the legal matter. The HC also said it cannot expect an unbiased investigation from the city police that happens to be under the control of the state home minister.
The CBI has been directed to complete its preliminary investigations and on the basis of its findings file a FIR if warranted within the 15-day time frame.
Param Bir Singh had also sought remedial action against his transfer order. The HC has directed Singh to pursue the matter with the appropriate authority.
The PIL that has been filled will have to wait for the findings of the CBI inquiry before contemplating further legal action. This is also expected to throw light on the confluence of suspended API Sachin Vaze and other police officers named by Singh in the allegations that have been set on record.
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However, even as the court proceedings accusing Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh took a serious turn, there were still no signs of any concrete evidence that can substantiate the serious allegations levelled against him by the former Mumbai top cop, Param Bir Singh.
Singh who has been transferred from the post of city commissioner had accused Deshmukh of running a Rs 100 crore extortion racket by using Junior officers for collection of money from bars, hotels and hookah parlours. Allegations of this kind, attract categorisation under organised crime that merits grave penalty, including being non-bailable.
Incidentally not a trace of evidence against Deshmukh is till now out in the public domain, but the PIL that was filed against him derives weight from the fact that the allegations were levelled by a senior IPS cadre officer of commissioner rank. The story doing the rounds in legal circles is that a senior IPS officer of such high rank would not hurt such grave allegations against a sitting minister without any ammunition to back his claim.
