The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Bombay High Court’s decision to grant bail to former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh in connection with a corruption case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation, Live Law reported.
The order was passed by a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices V Ramasubramanian and JB Pardiwala.
The Nationalist Congress Party leader had been in jail since November 2021. He was granted bail on December 12. However, the court had stayed its order on two occasions to allow the CBI to file an appeal before the Supreme Court.
Prior to this, Deshmukh was granted bail on October 4 in a money laundering case which the Enforcement Directorate is investigating in connection to the allegations of corruption.
The cases are related to the accusations made by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh who had written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in March 2021 alleging that Deshmukh had asked some officers to extort Rs 100 crore every month from bars and restaurants in the city.
In its plea, the CBI had claimed that the Bombay High Court “committed grave error” while granting bail to Deshmukh in the corruption case despite its objection. It also added that the High Court also failed to understand that despite demitting office of the home minister, Deshmukh holds “considerable clout” in Maharashtra.
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