Plea for transfer of Patil probe to CBI

The Fight For the Rights of Bar Owners Association on Tuesday urged the Bombay High Court to transfer the inquiry against Maharashtra Home M...

The Fight For the Rights of Bar Owners Association on Tuesday urged the Bombay High Court to transfer the inquiry against Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

An inquiry was instituted against Patil after president of the association Manjeet Singh Sethi alleged that the Home Minister had demanded Rs 12 crore from him for not implementing ban on dance bars.

Defence counsel Satish Talekar, after filing an affidavit, argued that the Mumbai Police may not carry out the investigation impartially against the minister.

Story continues below this ad

Sethi, in a writ petition, also urged the court to register a case against Patil under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA). He requested the court to hand over the investigation to CBI as he fears that the local police or the anti-corruption bureau may be biased.

Defence counsel argued that the police have deliberately not registered offence against the minister under the PCA and there has been no progress in the investigation for the past seven months. In a new development, Sethi, through his counsel filed an affidavit alleging that he is getting threat calls from an unknown person asking him to withdraw the case against Patil.

A transcript and a CD of the recorded conversation has also been submitted in the court. Meanwhile, on Monday, the state government informed the court about its plans to rehabilitate bar dancers.

India denies entry to top SOAS Hindi scholar — who is Francesca Orsini?

India2 hr ago

Francesca Orsini, a prominent Hindi scholar and professor, was denied entry into India and sent back to London from the New Delhi airport. Orsini is renowned for her groundbreaking work on Hindi literature and has mentored scholars and given lectures on literary history and world literature.

View all shorts

Live Blog

PHOTOS