Former home minister Anil Deshmukh has filed a petition in the Supreme Court with a plea that no coercive action may be taken against him. As reported by Free Press Journal, Deshmukh had left for Delhi on Saturday and after seeking the view of his lawyers filed a petition in the apex court.
Deshmukh’s move came a day after the Enforcement Directorate served a fresh summon for his appearance on July 5 in connection with the ongoing probe into the money laundering case following the corruption charges leveled by the former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh. The 72-year-old politician had skipped the earlier summons citing “vulnerability” to Covid-19 as one of the reasons for non-compliance.
The summons are in connection with the criminal case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) related to an alleged Rs 100 bribery-cum-extortion racket that led to Deshmukh's resignation in April this year.
Deshmukh has alleged that some kind of malice is being nursed against him and hoped that the ED would act within the four corners of the law. Moreover, he indirectly accused the Centre of misusing its power to suppress and oppress political opponents. He has sought a copy of all required documents including the ECIR and agreed to record his statement at the time of the ED's choice via audio/visual mode.
ED has already arrested Deshmukh’s two aides and they are being interrogated further.
Apart from ED, the CBI has conducted a probe against Deshmukh. However, the former home minister has already claimed that the CBI FIR is arbitrary and illegal as the central investigating agency bypassed procedures by not availing prior nod from the state government to probe a public servant under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
