Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Sept 26: The Supreme Court expressed concern about the delay in hearing Anil Deshmukh’s bail request on Monday and ordered the Bombay High Court to quickly hear and consider his case. Anil Deshmukh, a former home minister for Maharashtra, was detained in connection with a money laundering investigation.
The Supreme Court noted that anyone who has applied for bail has a right to assume that his case will be resolved quickly.
According to Article 21 of the Constitution, keeping a bail application waiting violates the right to life. Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Hima Kohli’s panel noted that Deshmukh’s bail request has been pending in the high court since March 21.
“We issue a direction and permit the petitioner to apply before the learned judge, to whom the case has been assigned, tomorrow. The application shall be taken for hearing during the course of this week and decided expeditiously,” the bench said.
The highest court made it clear that it had not made a determination about the case’s legal merits. Deshmukh’s application for bail is currently being heard by High Court Justice N J Jamadar.
Notably, Anil Deshmukh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in November 2021 and is currently in judicial custody.