Supreme Court withdraws former Mumbai police chief's plea against Deshmukh

Former Mumbai police commissioner, Param Bir Singh on Monday (22) had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking direction for a "impartial and fair" CBI probe into alleged corrupt allegations against Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh.

Hearing the petition on Wednesday (24), the apex court directed Singh to withdraw the plea and told him to first approach the Bombay High Court with his grievances.

The bench of Justice Sanjya Kishan Kaul and Justice RS Reddy said there is no doubt the matter is "quite serious."

Singh, a 1988 batch IPS officer, has also sought quashing of the order that got him transferred from the post as Mumbai police commissioner, alleging it to be “arbitrary” and “illegal”.

Singh alleged that the home minister had set a ₹ 100 crore collection target for the police every month. Deshmukh, later denied the allegations.

How it all started

On February 25, a SUV laden with explosives was found outside the 27-storeyed Mumbai home of Mukesh Ambani, head of Reliance Industries and Asia's richest man.

The alleged owner of the car was later found dead in mysterious circumstances, washed ashore in the sea. Then on March 13, a senior Mumbai police officer, Sachin Vaze was arrested by India's federal National Investigation Agency (NIA). The police officer is reportedly known to the dead owner of the car.

However, Vaze, currently in custody after a court rejected his bail, denied any wrongdoings relating to the case. Investigators say the police officer was part of the plan to park the explosive-laden car outside Ambani's house.

The NIA has charged the officer with conspiracy, criminal intimidation and negligent conduct in dealing with explosives.

In his petition to the Supreme Court, Singh said his transfer was illegal and Deshmukh interfered in investigations of this case. He also alleged that along with Vaze and other officers, the minister was involved in extortion. Deshmukh has denied the allegations.

India's ruling party (Bharatiya Janata Party) at the centre has been critical of the Maharashtra government led by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, who is now battling a surge in Covid-19 cases in the state and also the case involving its home minister.