‘Money laundering’ case: Over a year after his arrest, Anil Deshmukh walks out of Arthur Road jail

The CBI had also initiated a preliminary probe based on the April 5, 2021, High Court order and registered an FIR on April 21. The ED probe into Deshmukh’s financial transactions was in line with a CBI probe into former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh’s allegations of corruption against the NCP leader.

Speaking to mediapersons outside the jail after his release, Deshmukh said, “There is no truth to the allegations made against me. I am thankful to the judiciary.”

Mumbai News Live Updates: Former Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh released from jail

“False allegations were levelled against me. Param Bir Singh had made an allegation of Rs 1000-crore corruption against me. However, he only told the court in an affidavit that the said allegations were based on hearsay and he did not have any evidence on the same. Even the High Court in its order has questioned the statement by Sachin Waze (dismissed police officer), who was close to Param Bir Singh. Waze has been arrested twice for murder allegations and he has been suspended thrice. He has serious offences levelled against him. The High Court has observed that Waze’s witness can’t be relied upon and the allegations against me were without evidence. I have faith in the judiciary… it has given us justice and I thank them. I also thank NCP chief Sharad Pawar and other colleagues who supported me throughout,” added Deshmukh.

The NCP leader’s family members, leader of opposition in state Assembly Ajit Pawar, NCP MP Supriya Sule, former ministers Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse-Patil and NCP state president Jayant Patil, among others, were present outside Arthur Road jail to receive Deshmukh. As per the HC order, Deshmukh will have to stay within Greater Mumbai area till the conclusion of the trial

Speaking to mediapersons outside the prison, Ajit Pawar said, “We are happy about Deshmukh’s release. We will request the court to allow Deshmukh to go outside the Greater Mumbai area and we hope the court will grant the same. We will go through the court’s verdict and the truth will now come before the public.”

“It is unfortunate that he had to spend a year in jail due to baseless allegations. The High Court order makes it clear that the agency has no proof other than a co-accused’s statement. Who will return the time he spent in jail? The agencies, following the orders of their masters, are targeting political opponents, while those who bend before the masters are let off,” said Supriya Sule.

Bhujbal said, “A senior leader like Deshmukh was kept in jail for over one year and no evidence was found against him. The country should reconsider the draconian PMLA.”

On Monday, Deshmukh’s lawyers, Inderpal Singh and Aniket Nikam, had approached the special court to complete bail formalities for his release. A local resident of Deshmukh’s constituency Katol, from where he has been elected as an MLA five times, was before the court to stand surety to him as part of the bail process. The release order was issued by the court which was then deposited to the Arthur Road jail, following which he was released.

A single-judge bench of Justice Makarand S Karnik of the High Court had on December 12 directed that 73-year-old Deshmukh be released on bail upon furnishing a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh, along with sureties of the same amount, and asked him to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

The court had also laid down further bail conditions and asked Deshmukh to surrender his passport to the trial court if not done yet and cooperate for expeditious disposal of the trial. It had also directed Deshmukh to report to the CBI office every Tuesday for a period of one month from the date of release and thereafter, he was asked to report to the central agency’s office every alternate Tuesday for the next three months.

The High Court had said that Deshmukh shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him/her from disclosing the facts to court or any police officer. Deshmukh shall not tamper with evidence, the HC had ordered.

Justice Karnik, in his December 12 order, had observed that except for the statement of dismissed police officer Sachin Waze, the approver in the case, none of the other statements recorded indicate that money was collected under the instructions of Deshmukh, and material for relying on Waze’s statement can be examined during the trial.
The bench had also noted that Deshmukh was 73 years old and suffering from multiple ailments. It had said that since Deshmukh was no longer the home minister, there was no question of him influencing the probe.

The HC had said that its bail order will become effective after 10 days to enable the CBI to approach the Supreme Court to challenge the bail order. The CBI then filed a plea in the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay HC bail order on December 16, which was the last working day of the Supreme Court before it closed for Christmas/winter break.

On December 21, after the CBI submitted that its plea could not be heard by SC, the stay on effect of bail order was further extended till December 27 and had clarified no further requests will be entertained.

Earlier, on October 4, a bench of Justice N J Jamadar of the Bombay High Court had granted Deshmukh bail in the money laundering case filed by ED. However, he remained in custody in a corruption case lodged by the CBI. Justice Jamadar had observed that prima facie, reliance could not be placed on the statement of Waze.

Justice Jamadar had held that “in all probabilities, the applicant may not be ultimately convicted” in the ED case.