Bombay HC refuses to hear Anil Deshmukh's plea against ED

Mumbai, Sep 2 (IANS) The Bombay High Court on Thursday refused to hear a petition filed by former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh seeking to quash the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons issued against him, among other reliefs.

When the matter first came up on Thursday, Justice Revati Mohite-Dere recused herself from hearing the plea without assigning any reason, saying: "Not before me."

The plea was filed on Wednesday by Deshmukh seeking to quash the ED summons for recording his statement, setting up an SIT comprising officers from outside of Mumbai Zone, record his statement in electronic mode, attendance through an authorised agent, and other reliefs as directions.

The ED has been probing an alleged money-laundering case against Deshmukh since April following a CBI FIR arising out of the corruption allegations levelled by former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh in March.

Deshmukh has so far skipped five ED summons even as the agency raided his premises in Mumbai and Nagpur and also arrested two of the ex-minister's associates.

Last month, the Supreme Court had declined to grant interim protection against arrest by the ED and asked Deshmukh to move an appropriate court.

Among other things, Deshmukh is charged with asking dismissed Mumbai Assistant Inspector Sachin Vaze to collect Rs 100 crore per month from city hoteliers, and an educational trust belonging to the Deshmukhs receiving illegal money worth Rs 4 crore.