The Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail to former Maharashtra Home Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Anil Deshmukh in a corruption case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the matter. Deshmukh, however, will not be able to walk out of jail as the High Court has stayed the order for ten days after the CBI sought time to challenge it in the Supreme Court.
A single bench of Justice MS Karnik allowed Deshmukh’s bail plea after hearing arguments from both the sides. He is currently lodged in Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail under judicial custody.
Deshmukh, 74, had approached the high court after a special CBI court rejected his bail plea last month. He sought bail on medical grounds.
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The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader has been in jail since November last year after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case. In April this year, he was arrested by the CBI in a corruption case. The High Court had last month granted him bail in the ED case. However, Deshmukh’s bail plea in the corruption case was rejected by the special CBI court saying there was prima facie evidence against him.
IPS officer Param Bir Singh alleged in March 2021 that the then home minister Deshmukh had given police officers a target of collecting Rs 100 crore per month from restaurants and bars in Mumbai.
The High Court directed the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry against Deshmukh in April 2021. The CBI later registered an FIR against Deshmukh and his associates for alleged corruption and misuse of official power.
