No rule of law in country: Saamana editorial hits out at Centre after Sanjay Raut’s bail

The editorial further said that there is pressure on the judiciary and also slammed the Centre for “misusing” probe agencies like ED and CBI to target its political opponents and asked why only Opposition leaders face arrests or are served notices while none in the BJP and or the Eknath Shinde faction are arrested or served notices.

“In Maharashtra, the ED (Enforcement Directorate) was used to overthrow the Shiv Sena and the government (MVA led by Uddhav Thackeray). Those whom the ED was going to arrest earlier were given a clean chit as soon as they quit Shiv Sena and those who did not bow down before Shinde-(Devendra) Fadnavis became accused of the ED-CBI. There is no rule of law in the country. Judiciary is under pressure and the central machinery has become a slave. This was revealed in the Sanjay Raut case,” the editorial said.

The editorial further stated, “The special court’s order has brought all this to the fore.” It went on to allege that at least seven ministers and 15 MLAs and MPs of the BJP in Mumbai and Maharashtra and a few builders who finance the BJP have cases against their names and can go to jail for money laundering but the court’s statement that ED itself selects the accused stands true.

The editorial added that the chief ministers of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Telangana and all political rivals of the BJP have flagged similar concerns.

The Saamana editorial further said, “Special Court Justice M G Deshpande’s order is historical and instructive and the orders and observations are like bright rays of light. Judgments that remove the darkness in the present judicial system have been welcomed across the country. Let’s hope this will show the light to those who are languishing in jails.”

The editorial also claimed that the money laundering case against the former Maharashtra Home Minister and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh was “fabricated”.