Lagatar24 Desk : Former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has approached the Bombay High Court seeking to quash the summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money-laundering and corruption case.
Deshmukh has also sought directions to the ED to permit him to appear through a video conference.
He has also demanded the constitution of a Special Investigative Team (SIT), seeking monitoring of the probe which is being carried out at ED’s Mumbai Zonal Office.
Anil Deshmukh’s petition came up for hearing before Justice Revati Mohite Dere on Thursday. However, she recused herself without giving any reason. The application will now be heard by another bench in due course.
The ED has arrested and filed a chargesheet (prosecution complaint) against Anil Deshmukh’s private secretary Sanjeev Palande and personal assistant Kundan Shinde.
Palande has also moved the Bombay High Court challenging the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) registered against him. It is likely to be heard by a division bench of the high court on Thursday.
The ED had initiated a probe against Anil Deshmukh and his associates after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) lodged an FIR against the NCP leader on April 21 this year on charges of corruption and misuse of official position.
So far, the ED probe has revealed that Anil Deshmukh, while acting as the home minister of Maharashtra, “received illegal gratification of approximately Rs 4.7 crore in cash from various orchestra bar owners” through suspended Mumbai police officer Sachin Vaze. The amount exchanged hands through Shinde.
The ED has till now issued five summons to Deshmukh, asking him to appear before it for questioning. However, Deshmukh skipped all the five summons, claiming that he would be seeking appropriate remedy available under law.
