No move on Maharashtra letters in Anil Deshmukh FIR till Jun 11: CBI to Bombay High Court

By PTI

MUMBAI: The CBI on Tuesday extended till June 11 its earlier statement made to Bombay High Court that it would not act on the letters it sent to the Maharashtra government seeking documents pertaining to complaints lodged by senior IPS officer Rashmi Shukla about alleged corruption in police postings and transfers.

A division bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar said it would hear the petition filed by the Maharashtra government, seeking for two paragraphs from the CBI’s FIR against former state home minister Anil Deshmukh to be set aside, on June 10 along with a petition filed by Deshmukh against the FIR.

The CBI had, on April 21, registered an FIR against Deshmukh on alleged charges of corruption and misuse of official position after the agency conducted a preliminary enquiry following an HC order on April 5.

Deshmukh had, last month, filed a petition in HC challenging the FIR and sought for it be quashed, and this petition is listed for hearing on June 10.

Later, the state government filed a petition seeking a direction to CBI to set aside two paragraphs from the FIR which, as per the government, was not relevant to the case against Deshmukh.

While one paragraph is about allegations levelled against Deshmukh by Sachin Waze, who has been dismissed from the police force after his arrest in the Antilia bomb scare case, the second paragraph pertains to corruption in transfers and postings of police officials.

On Tuesday, advocate Jayshri Patil, on whose petition the HC on April 5 ordered the CBI to carry out an enquiry against Deshmukh, told the bench petitions of the state government and Deshmukh should be heard together as they arise out of the same FIR.

The bench then said it would hear the government’s petition along with that of Deshmukh on June 10.

Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, then said the agency was extending its earlier statement, that it would not act upon the letters seeking information from the state government, till June 11.

Last month, Patil had written a complaint to Chief Justice Dipankar Datta against Justice Shinde alleging she was harassed and, hence, the matters should not be heard by this bench.

“I was harassed, humiliated and insulted in open court when the bench headed by Justice Shinde heard my petition against Deshmukh in April,” Patil said.

Justice Shinde on Tuesday said he had only asked questions while hearing the plea and added that he regretted it if Patil felt mentally harassed by the same.

Patil then said that she would withdraw the complaint.

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