Mumbai: Dismissed cop Sachin Vaze has sought discharge from the money laundering case in which he is booked alongside former home minister Anil Deshmukh. This move comes after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) withdrew its consent to Vaze's plea to become an approver.
On Monday, Vaze filed a plea from prison, requesting discharge from the case, stating that he is no longer an accused in the predicate offence registered by the CBI against Deshmukh. Vaze claims that in the CBI case, he has been made an approver.
He argues in his plea, "It is settled law that once the immunity of pardon is extended to the accused and he is made an approver, he stands discharged. And would be examined as a witness unless the said privilege is revoked upon the violation of conditions of pardon."
Vaze mentions that he voluntarily applied to become an approver in the present case and disclosed all the facts. Although the ED initially supported his plea, Vaze notes that "for reasons and procedures unknown to the law, the respondents (ED) now seek the rejection of his plea."
The court has instructed the Enforcement Directorate to respond to Vaze's plea, scheduling the hearing for December 18. The ED's case revolves around allegations made by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh in a letter to then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on March 20, 2021. Singh claimed that Deshmukh had instructed certain police officers, including Vaze, to collect ₹100 crore every month from bars and restaurants in the city. The ED, after its probe, has asserted that Vaze, following these instructions, collected Rs 4.70 crores from various bar and restaurant owners in the city.
