Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai, Dec 11: Anil Deshmukh, a former cabinet member for Maharashtra, was granted bail on Monday by the Bombay High Court in a corruption case brought by the CBI (CBI).
Justice MS Karnik reserved the plea on December 8 and announced the decision today.
After a year of judicial detention in connection with the corruption case and related money laundering case, the former Maharashtra Home Minister will today be released from prison.
Deshmukh is the subject of two investigations stemming from the same allegation: one by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the offence of money laundering and the other by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for the offence of corruption.
The Bombay High Court granted bail to Deshmukh in the money laundering case on October 4.
Deshmukh appealed this decision before the High Court after the special court in the CBI case denied him bail. Deshmukh’s attorneys, senior attorney Vikram Chaudhari and attorney Aniket Nikam, argued that because the two cases are related and bail was given in the ED case, bail should also be granted in the CBI case.
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According to Chaudhari, Deshmukh has been behind bars for more than a year for allegedly committing a crime that carries a 7-year maximum sentence. Additionally, Chaudhari informed the court that Sachin Waze, a contentious former Mumbai police officer, had been appointed an approver in the CBI’s case.
However, when granted bail to Deshmukh in the ED case, the High Court expressed scepticism about the truth of Waze’s claims.
The CBI’s additional solicitor general, Anil Singh, contested the claim, claiming the minister had engaged in high-level corruption that had a negative impact on the state government. Singh further argued that giving bail in a money laundering case could not serve as justification for granting bail in the underlying offence (in this case, corruption case).
The ASG emphasised that Deshmukh had been denied relief in his requests for the quashing of the CBI FIR and default bail. Singh further voiced concern that, as a powerful individual, Deshmukh would obstruct the ongoing investigation into the crime.
