Bombay HC grants bail to ex-Maha minister Anil Deshmukh in corruption case being probed by CBI

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail to former Maharashtra home minister and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh in a corruption case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Deshmukh, however, won’t walk out of jail as the high court has kept the order in abeyance for ten days after the CBI sought time to challenge it in the Supreme Court.

A single bench of Justice M S Karnik allowed Deshmukh’s bail plea after hearing arguments of both sides.

He is currently in judicial custody and lodged at the Arthur Road prison in Mumbai.

Deshmukh, 74, had approached the high court after a special CBI court rejected his bail plea last month. He sought bail both on medical grounds as well as on merits.

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 the corruption case.

He was granted bail by the high court last month in the ED case.

Deshmukh’s bail plea in the corruption case was, however, rejected by the special CBI court noting that there was prima facie evidence against him.

IPS officer Param Bir Singh had in March 2021 alleged that Deshmukh, then home minister, had given a target to police officers to collect Rs 100 crore per month from restaurants and bars in Mumbai.

The high court in April 2021 directed the CBI to carry out a Preliminary Enquiry against Deshmukh.

The CBI subsequently registered an FIR against Deshmukh and his associates for alleged corruption and misuse of official power.