On Monday, Bombay High Court granted bail to Former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh (74) on bail bond of ₹1 lakh.
However, the order will be affective after 10 days as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sought time to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court.
Lodged in Mumbai's Arthur Road prison, Deshmukh was arrested on November 2, 2021, and has been in judicial custody since then. He was admitted to a private hospital in October this year for coronary angiography.
- He was jailed last year amid allegations against him by former Mumbai top cop Parambir Singh. It was one of the biggest political controversies during the tenure of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
The Enforcement Directorate and the CBI have filed separate cases against Deshmukh. Last month, the CBI had told the high court that bail for Deshmukh in the money laundering case would not make him eligible for bail in the corruption case. In its affidavit, the CBI further stated that allegations - against the former minister - under the Prevention of Corruption Act were different from the case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), registered under the PMLA. “The PMLA case has no bearing on the instant CBI case. That the allegations substantiated against the present applicant are of criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable under section 7 of the PC," read the affidavit.
- In October, the Supreme Court had rejected the ED's challenge to the bail given to him. This was after the Bombay High Court had given him bail in the money laundering case the same month.
Param Bir Singh had accused Deshmukh of trying to extort money from bar owners in Mumbai through some police officials, including dismissed assistant inspector Sachin Waze. Waze was arrested as the prime suspect in the Antilia explosives scare by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and was also linked to the murder of Thane-based car accessories shop owner Mansukh Hiran.
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