Mumbai Special Court Denies Bail To Anil Deshmukh In Money Laundering Case

Special PMLA Judge Rahul Rokade rejected the bail application filed by Deshmukh, a detailed order for which is not available yet.

While rejecting the application special judge RS Rokade observed that "Prima facie there is sufficient evidence to hold that the accused was involved in money laundering case."

Moreover, while there are contradicting witness statements, the same cannot be considered at this stage(stage of bail).

Deshmukh, in his bail plea filed in January, contended that he is a victim of "gross persecution". "Harassment was being meted out to him at the hands of certain unscrupulous vested interests for blatantly malafide considerations," his plea said.

It further claimed that the case reflects "shocking abuse of power and authority" by the concerned officials who have virtually unleashed a reign of terror by subverting the process of law.

"If such adventurism which has been indulged into in the instant case is allowed to go unchecked, it will spell a death knell to the fundamental rights as guaranteed in the Constitution," it added. Earlier, the special court had rejected his default bail, filed on technical ground.

The application also contended that around 100 witnesses had been interrogated by the ED during their investigation and none of them had claimed to have been influenced by the accused, therefore, there could not be any chance of influencing any witness.

The ED, opposing his plea, stressed on the modus operandi through which Deshmukh and his family members allegedly laundered over Rs.13 crore. According to the agency, the money was routed through shell companies and eventually transferred to the bank account of Shri Sai Shikshan Sanstha, a Trust purportedly formed by the Deshmukh family. The ED further alleged that the funds were transferred to various accounts of companies directly and indirectly controlled by Deshmukh's family members.

The agency further contended that there was likelihood of Deshmukh attempting to influence the investigation and witnesses and/or obfuscate the trial; that he had amassed huge wealth during his public service, source of which was still unexplained and that he was not able to explain the sources of his wealth and was hiding the actual facts.

Deshmukh is accused of corruption and bribery by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, after which the ED and CBI registered cases against the former State Home Minister.