Anil Deshmukh quits after Bombay HC orders CBI PE into Param Bir Singh allegations

Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh resigned on Monday after the Bombay High Court directed the CBI to hold a preliminary enquiry into allegations of corruption made by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh against him. Deshmukh, however, is likely to challenge the HC order in the Supreme Court.

“Anil Deshmukh met party chief Sharad Pawar and said that he did not want to remain minister after the HC order. The party concurred and asked him to send his resignation letter to the chief minister. We have requested the CM to accept his resignation,” NCP spokesperson and minister Nawab Malik said. The CM’s office later said that Uddhav Thackeray has accepted Deshmukh’s resignation and he would be replaced by labour and excise minister Dilip Walse Patil.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni asked the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the matter which should be concluded in 15 days. The court also said that once the inquiry is concluded, CBI can take appropriate action as per its findings. The order was in a case filed by Jaishri Patil. “We agree with Dr Jaishri Patil that directions are required to order an unbiased probe to unearth the truth,” the court said while directing a probe.


“There can be no independent probe if it is given to the police as Deshmukh is home minister. The interest of justice will be done if the CBI director is allowed to conduct a preliminary enquiry,” it said. The bench had last week asked Singh why he did not register a case as Mumbai police commissioner instead of writing to the CM. Singh, after he was removed as the city police chief, alleged in a letter to Thackeray that Deshmukh had instructed suspended assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze and some other police officers to collect Rs 100 crore per month from bars, restaurants and other outlets.

Deshmukh is the second minister to quit the Thackeray ministry. Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Rathod had quit weeks ago after his name cropped up in the death of a 22-year-old woman. Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis said that Deshmukh should have quit earlier.