The Maharashtra government and former state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh have moved the Supreme Court, challenging the Bombay High Court order directing a CBI preliminary enquiry into corruption allegations levelled by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh.
A division bench of Bombay High Court comprising Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G.S. Kulkarni on Monday had asked the CBI to complete its "preliminary probe" within 15 days on the issues raised by Singh in his "letter-bomb" last month. Hours after this Deshmukh resigned from the cabinet.
However, the court said that the CBI need not register a First Information Report (FIR) immediately as the Maharashtra government has already set up a 'high-level committee' to probe the matter.
"The Government Resolution by the state government for a high-level committee leads us to believe that there is no interference required," said Chief Justice Datta.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi government has filed a special leave plea challenging the Bombay HC order, while a separate petition was also filed by Deshmukh in the case. According to the Supreme Court website, it says that no date on the hearing has been finalised so far. The status on the top court website shows pending for both petitions.
Earlier on Tuesday, newly-appointed Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil, who took charge, had said: "The state government will challenge the Bombay HC order before the Supreme Court."
The NCP leader in his resignation letter stated that it was not morally correct for him to continue as the home minister after the HC order to finish a preliminary inquiry against him in 15 days.
On Monday evening, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray accepted Deshmukh’s resignation and informed Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari that senior NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil, who was handling the Excise and Labour Departments, had been given charge of the home portfolio.
Corruption charges against Deshmukh
In his plea, Singh had sought a thorough probe by the CBI into his allegations that Deshmukh had asked arrested Mumbai policeman Sachin Vaze "to collect Rs 100 crore per month" and also challenged his transfer to Commandant General, Home Guards. Singh had also accused the home minister of frequently interfering with police investigations in various cases.
The state had strongly objected to the plea on grounds that Singh made the allegations only because he was shunted out of his post as Mumbai police chief.