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Synopsis

A division bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Acting Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Arif Doctor on Wednesday asked the petitioner to prove his bonafide in a PIL filed against Maharashtra Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde seeking a probe into funds used in the Dusshera rally at Bandra Kurla Complex last year.

"We could have disposed of the petition for this reason leaving the cause open to be agitated by any public spirited person or entity with credentials, however, since the learned counsel for the Petitioner seeks time to file an additional affidavit giving details regarding the Petitioner’s source of livelihood, social work etc., we defer the hearing of this petition to 19 July 2023," the court recorded.

The bench also noted that the petitioner had given no particulars about himself. 

"In this petition, the Petitioner has given no particulars about himself. Except a reference in the title of the petition describing the Petitioner as a social worker, no other particulars regarding his occupation, source of livelihood are mentioned," the bench noted.

The plea was filed by one Deepak Dilip Jagdev through Advocate Nitin Satpute alleged Shinde had called 2,00,000 people from across the state, with about 1,700 buses from the Maharashtra Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) being deployed to facilitate transportation during the Dussehra rally. 

The plea further claimed that Shinde's party had used Rs. 10 crores for the rally, which was spent by an unregistered political, and therefore should be probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation and Mumbai Police Economic Offence Wing. 

The petitioner has further sought action against Shinde in the same manner how the investigation was conducted against NCP Leader Anil Deshmukh and Shiv Sena Leader Sanjay Raut.

"Petitioner state that there is highly possibility that black money has been used for this public rally by spending Rs 10 Crore, therefor source of black money and funding need to be investigated like Ex- Home Miniter Anil Deshmukh, Ex Sanjay Raut, etc," the plea reads.

Case title: Deepak Dilip Jagdev vs Eknath Shinde & Ors.