Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday quashed the FIRs registered against former Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey and advocate Shekhar Jagtap in connection with an FIR registered by businessman Sanjay Punamiya.
Punamiya alleged that a case against him was deliberately reopened to force him to make statements against Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Shinde.
A special bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Suman Shyam, pronounced the order in court. The detailed order is yet to be uploaded.
The bench was hearing a batch of petitions filed by Pandey, Jagtap and other individuals seeking quashing of the FIRs registered at the Thane and Colaba police stations.
According to the FIRs, businessman Punamiya alleged that a criminal case against him, which had been closed in 2016, was deliberately reopened by Pandey during his tenure as Maharashtra DGP. Punamiya further alleged that he was threatened and pressured to implicate political leaders, including Fadnavis and Shinde, in an urban land ceiling scam.
The FIR also accused Pandey, along with two retired police officers and others, of coercing Punamiya into giving false statements. Punamiya claimed that while he was admitted to Saifee Hospital in 2021, police officers conveyed messages allegedly sent by Pandey asking him to implicate Fadnavis, Shinde and former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh. Punamiya alleged that he refused to comply.
Advocate Rahul Kamerkar, appearing for Pandey, argued before the court that the FIRs were filed after an unexplained delay and were motivated by “political vendetta”. Pandey has consistently denied the allegations.
Meanwhile, advocate Jagtap was accused in a separate FIR lodged by the Colaba police of allegedly forging documents related to his appointment as a Special Public Prosecutor in cases involving Param Bir Singh.
Seeking quashing of the FIR, Jagtap argued that he was being falsely implicated and pointed out that multiple complaints filed by Punamiya against him had already been dismissed by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa in September 2023.
The matter had witnessed several recusals by High Court judges before the Supreme Court intervened and directed the constitution of a special bench to hear the petitions.
On a request by Punamiya’s advocate Rizwan Merchant, the high court refused to stay its order to allow him to approach the Supreme Court.
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