He seeks relief on the ground that the court did not take any cognizance of the charge sheet
Mumbai
Former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Tuesday applied for bail in a money laundering case against him.
Mr Deshmukh, 71, currently lodged in Arthur Road Jail, filed for statutory bail on the ground that no cognizance of the charge sheet was taken by the Prevention of Money Laundering Act Court.
He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on November 1 after 12 hours of interrogation. He was sent to the agency’s custody till November 6.
On December 29, the ED filed a supplementary charge sheet against Mr. Deshmukh and his two sons.
The case dates back to March 20, 2021, when former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh wrote a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray alleging that Mr Deshmukh misused his position and power to take illegal monetary gains.
The letter alleged that Mr Deshmukh directed suspended police officer Sachin Vaze and others to collect ₹100 crore a month from bars and restaurants.
Soon after, the High Court directed a preliminary CBI inquiry against Mr. Deshmukh. The ED then stepped in and started investigating the money laundering charges against Mr. Deshmukh.
An FIR was registered against the former minister on April 21 under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act (taking bribe other than legal remuneration in respect of a Government Act). ,
According to the ED investigation, 11 companies were directly controlled by Mr Deshmukh’s family members and another 13 companies were in the name of close associates of his family. Bank account details showed that money was flowing directly from companies controlled indirectly by members of Mr. Deshmukh’s family to companies controlled by his family members.
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