On Wednesday, a special CBI court issued an order to release former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. After this, he has been released from Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai. A vacation bench of the High Court had on Tuesday dismissed the Central Bureau of Investigation’s plea to stay Deshmukh’s bail order. On Wednesday, Special Judge for CBI Cases SM Menjoge issued the release memo after the bail formalities were completed.
Let us tell you that last week, the High Court had extended his custody till December 27 on the request of the CBI.
Anil Deshmukh’s lawyers Aniket Nikam and Inderpal Singh claimed that the CBI was trying to “overreach” the High Court order, which had said that under no circumstances another extension would be granted, according to a Telegraph report.
Granting bail to Deshmukh, the High Court had observed that barring the statement of sacked police officer Sachin Waje, none of the statements recorded by the CBI indicated that money was being extorted from bar owners in Mumbai at the behest of Anil Deshmukh.
Deshmukh approached the High Court after a special CBI court rejected his bail plea last month. He sought bail both on medical grounds and on merits of the case.
Arrested in corruption case
Anil Deshmukh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in November 2021. In March 2021, former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh alleged 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.
Waje, a former assistant police inspector arrested last year in connection with the discovery of an explosives-laden car near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s house in Mumbai, had made similar allegations.
After this, the High Court had directed the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry in April 2021.
