Bombay HC division bench to hear Anil Deshmukh's plea against ED summons in money laundering case

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday said its division bench comprising two judges instead of a singlejudge bench would hear the petition filed by Maharashtras former home minister Anil Deshmukh against the summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering caseA single bench of Justice S K Shinde said the objection raised by the HC registry department that the issues raised in the plea ought to be heard by a division bench is correctJustice Shinde directed the registry department to place Deshmukhs petition for hearing before the appropriate division benchDeshmukh filed the petition earlier this month seeking to quash the five summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate EDLast week when the plea came up for hearing before Justice Shinde Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta appearing for the ED brought to the HCs attention a note addressed by the registry department saying the plea has to be heard by a division benchSenior counsel Vikram Chaudhri and advocate Aniket Nikam appearing for Deshmukh said the single bench had the jurisdiction to hear the pleaThe court had then said it would consider the issue and pass ordersAlso read Anil Deshmukh corruption case Delhi HC asks CBI to file reply on bail plea of lawyer Anand DagaThe ED had initiated a probe against Deshmukh and his associates after the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI filed its FIR against the NCP leader on April 21 on charges of corruption and misuse of official positionDeshmukh in his plea claimed the EDs action was a result of political vendettaThe petition also said the agencys whole case was based on iquestmalicious statementsiquest made by dismissed police officer Sachin Waze who is presently in jail in connection the case of an explosivesladen vehicle found near the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani in February this year and the subsequent killing of businessman Mansukh HiranThe statements made by Waze a tainted cop are absolutely false and concocted with a malafide intention to defame and frame the applicant Deshmukh with ulterior motives the petition saidDeshmukh refuted the claims made by the ED that while serving as Maharashtras home minister he had misused his official position and through Waze collected Rs 470 crore from various bars and restaurants in MumbaiThe money was allegedly laundered to Nagpurbased Shri Sai Shikshan Sanstha an education trust controlled by Deshmukhs familyThe entire claim of Waze giving Rs 470 crore to the applicant Deshmukh and the same amount being routed by the applicants family is factually incorrect the plea saidThe petition also said the amount received by the Shri Sai Shikshan Sanstha was donations made before the period in which Waze alleged to have received illegal gratification from bars and restaurantsThere was never any cash received as illegal gratification from bar owners as claimed by Waze the plea saidThe ED has so far arrested two persons in the case Sanjeev Palande additional collector rank official who was working as Deshmukhs private secretary and Kundan Shinde Deshmukhs personal assistantThe agency last month submitted its prosecution complaint equivalent to a charge sheet against the duo before a special courtThe CBI had lodged its FIR against Deshmukh after it conducted a preliminary enquiry against the NCP leader following an order from the HC on April 5Deshmukh resigned from the post of state home minister on April 5 but has repeatedly denied any wrongdoingThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever