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Synopsis

A Single Judge Bench of Justice N.J Jamdar of Bombay High Court granted bail to Ex Home Minister Anil Deshmukh in the PMLA case filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). 

Anil Deshmukh was accused of directing police inspector Sachin Waze to take bribes from bars in Mumbai and being involved in corruption for the transfer and posting of police officials. 

The Counsel while seeking bail, argued before the court that there is no evidence against the accused except the statement of Sachin Waze, whose statement is not reliable. He argued that the twin condition under Section 45 is not satisfied and that the accused must be released on bail taking into consideration advanced age and precarious health taking account the documents of the government hospital. 

The counsel for the ED argued that there is ample material in the form of the statements of witnesses, the money trail, and the evidence collected during the course of the investigation to show that the Applicant was involved in money laundering. He also argued that the credibility and reliability of the witnesses are not to be judged at this stage, and that is a matter for trial.

The court gave the benefit of proviso 1 of section 45 to Deshmukh which states that 

"Provided that a person, who is under the age of sixteen years or is a woman or is sick or infirm, [or is accused either on his own or along with other co-accused of money–laundering a sum of less than one crore rupees] may be released on bail, if the Special Court so directs”

The court noted that

"The material on record does indicate that the Applicant has been suffering from multiple ailments. He is 73 years of age. A few of the ailments may be classified as de-generative. The medical reports/certificates also show that the Applicant is suffering from chronic ailments. In the light of the material on record, it would be audacious to observe that the Applicant is not a sick person." 

The High Court also discarded the statement of Sachin Waze stating that,

"The tenure of Mr. Sachin Waze as a police officer has been controversial. He was under suspension for almost 16 years. He came to be arrested by NIA in C.R.No.35 of 2021 for the alleged murder of a person in connection with the occurrence of a gelatin laden SUV. His statements were recorded by ED whilst he remained in the custody of jurisdictional Court. All these factors if considered on the anvil of the test enunciated in the case of Ranjit Singh Sharma (supra) may persuade the Court to hold that, in all probabilities, the Applicant may not be ultimately convicted."

The High Court has granted bail to Deshmukh which will be effective from 13th October, after the counsel for ED informed the court that the Supreme Court will not be working till 10th October. The High Court has allowed ED to file appeal by 13th October

Deshmukh will remain in jail in the case registered by CBI. 

Case Title: Anil Vasantaro Deshmukh vs State of Maharashtra