New Delhi: The CBI has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court order granting bail to former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh in a corruption case. The high court had on December 12 granted bail to the 73-year-old Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader in the case but said the order will be effective after 10 days, as the Central Bureau of Investigation had sought time to challenge it in the apex court.
The high court had said except for dismissed police officer Sachin Waze's statement none recorded by the CBI indicated money was extorted from bar owners in Mumbai at the behest of the politician. In its plea filed in the top court, the probe agency has claimed the high court "committed grave error" while granting bail to Deshmukh irrespective of the serious objections raised by the CBI both on the merits of the case as well as the effect his bail will have on the continuing investigation.
"The high court failed to appreciate that the economic offences are required to be treated as separate category of offences and bail in such offences is not required to be granted as a routine matter. Usually, social-economic offences have deep rooted conspiracies effecting the moral fiber of the society and causing irreparable harm, need to be considered seriously," it said.
The CBI claimed the high court failed to appreciate that charge sheet filed by the agency does not merely rely on the statement of Sachin Waze, an accused-turned-approver, but is also based on other material evidences which establish commission of cognizable offence by Deshmukh. "The High Court failed to appreciate that ascertaining veracity or otherwise of any statement of a witness is a matter of trial and the statement ought not to have been discarded at the stage of deciding on grant of bail to the respondent," it said.
The agency claimed, "The High Court failed to appreciate that the version of Sachin Waze, accused-turned-approver, is corroborated by WhatsApp chats exchanged between Param Bir Singh (PW-30) and Sanjay Patil (PW-24) to the effect that money collected from the bar and orchestra owners was at the instance of the respondent (Deshmukh)."
It said the high court committed "error" in holding that the evidence in the form of testimony of Waze cannot be the ground to prolong Deshmukh's custody. The CBI said in its plea that the high court also failed to appreciate that despite demitting the office of the home minister of Maharashtra, Deshmukh holds "considerable clout" in the state.