The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh’s plea difficult the FIR lodged by the CBI in opposition to him in reference to the corruption expenses leveled by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh.
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah dismissed Deshmukh’s enchantment in opposition to the July 22 order of the Bombay High Court, which had additionally turned down his prayer for quashing the FIR, saying no case for interference was made out. Is.
The apex court docket bench additionally dismissed the Maharashtra authorities’s plea in opposition to the excessive court docket’s order permitting a CBI probe.
Appearing for Deshmukh in his petition difficult the Bombay HC order, senior advocate Amit Desai argued that the CBI can’t examine with out the prior consent of the state. He argued that the HC had solely ordered a preliminary inquiry, and subsequently needed to search state approval beneath Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act earlier than registering an FIR.
Additional Solicitor General Aman Lekhi, showing for the CBI, opposed this and mentioned that the investigation relies on the order of the High Court and the facility of the Constitutional Court to order investigation can’t be taken away or curtailed.
The bench didn’t agree with Desai’s submissions and mentioned insisting on sanction beneath the availability of the FIR might result in the top of justice, in a state of affairs the place the court docket was compelled to order a CBI probe resulting from insecurity within the state police. need to be. “Why is the inquiry ordered earlier? Because the state cannot be trusted. If you say you still have to abide by 17A, it will defeat the goal of justice. The state government will never give approval. If the state had to approve, it would have probed the matter first,” Justice Chandrachud mentioned.
Rejecting the Maharashtra authorities’s plea, Justice Chandrachud requested senior advocate Rahul Chitnis, showing for the state, “Generally when an FIR is lodged, the police have all of the related information beneath part 167 of CrPC. has jurisdiction. The police is certain to keep in mind all of the information. How can we draw a line that CBI will solely examine misuse of regulation with respect to particular information?
Justice Shah mentioned the way during which the posting was completed is a matter of investigation.
The court docket additionally rejected the argument that the CBI would want his consent. It mentioned, “If you talk of consent, it will defeat the direction passed by the Constitutional Court.”
.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
