Tanisha Rana
Published on: October 10, 2022 at 21:27 IST
The Enforcement Directorate’s petition challenging the former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh’s release on bail in connection with a money laundering case against him was granted an urgent hearing by the Supreme Court today.
Deshmukh was granted bail, which was to be effective from October 13.
After Solicitor General Tushar Mehta mentioned the appeal for an urgent hearing, a Bench consisting of Chief Justice of India UU Lalit and Justice S Ravindra Bhat decided to schedule the matter for hearing on October 11.
The bench ordered that the case be heard by a bench presided over by Justice DY Chandrachud tomorrow.
In a money laundering case that the ED is looking into, Deshmukh was granted bail by the Bombay High Court on October 4.
The bail order was clearly stated by the High Court to take effect on October 13 in order to allow the ED to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Deshmukh will be in judicial custody at Arthur Road Prison as long as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is looking into a corruption case involving him.
For alleged corruption that allegedly occurred between 2019 and 2021, Deshmukh and his accomplices are under investigation.
The CBI arrested Deshmukh and several individuals after conducting a preliminary investigation into a complaint filed by attorney Dr. Jaishri Patil.
The investigation was started as a result of a directive that the Bombay High Court issued on April 5, 2021 in response to a plea submitted by Param Bir Singh, former commissioner of the Mumbai Police.
Based on this CBI’s FIR, the ED filed a money laundering case against Deshmukh and alleged violations of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), leading to his arrest in November 2021.
He was placed under ED custody, and the High Court prolonged that detention until November 15.
He was then returned to judicial custody, where he is still being held today.
After having his bail request denied by a special PMLA Court, Deshmukh applied for regular bail before the High Court in March 2022.
The ED responded in April 2022, stating that Deshmukh had failed to explain the origin of enormous wealth and criminal earnings.