Anil Deshmukh approaches Mumbai court for regular bail in money laundering case

A Mumbai court on Friday issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a bail application filed by former Maharashtra Home Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Anil Deshmukh in the money-laundering case against him..Deshmukh stated in his plea that he is a victim of gross persecution and harassment being meted out to him at the hands of certain unscrupulous vested interests.He claimed that his case was a "shocking abuse of power and authority by the concerned officials who have virtually unleashed a reign of terror by subverting the process of law.""If such adventurism which has been indulged into in the instant case is allowed to go unchecked, it will spell a death knell to the fundamental rights as guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution especially under Articles 21 and 22," the plea stated..In the plea filed through advocate Aniket Nikam, Deshmukh sought bail on the following grounds:That he was arrested on November 1 and had been in judicial custody since November 15, 2021;That trial is unlikely to commence as the investigation still continues as no charge sheet has been filed in the main case being investigated by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI);That the agency is trying to create a false impression that Deshmukh is not an accused which has been;That the investigating agency was already in possession of some material, which they now claim before every Court is not enough to array Deshmukh as an accused and also sufficient for his arrest which was a dichotomous stand;That the entire matter relating to various aspects under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) including the ambit and scope of certain provisions is sub-judice before the Supreme Court in a plea also filed by Deshmukh;That though dismissed Mumbai cop Sachin Waze has implicated himself in the case, he was not formally arrested like Deshmukh which shows the arbitrary use of power by ED;That during the course of investigation which led to the complaint and supplementary complaint of ED, around 100 witnesses had been interrogated, and none of the witnesses claimed to have been influenced by Deshmukh, hence there could not be any chance of influencing any witness..Special Judge RN Rokade issued notice to ED today and directed them to respond to the bail application by February 4, 2022. .Deshmukh is the prime accused in the probe initiated by ED after CBI filed FIR following a Court-directed enquiry into allegations of corruption and misuse of his official position.Simultaneously, Deshmukh had challenged the summons before the Bombay High Court, which dismissed his petition while directing him to take appropriate steps to approach the courts for anticipatory bail.The former Maharashtra Home Minister appeared before the ED officials and after a 12-hour interrogation, he was arrested and remanded to ED custody till November 6, 2021.A Sessions Court then turned down the ED's plea for extension of custody, and he was remanded to judicial custody of 14 days. This order was set aside by the Bombay High Court in a special Sunday sitting after ED challenged the same.The High Court then remanded Deshmukh to ED custody till November 12, which was extended till November 15. After that, the NCP leader was sent to judicial custody where he remains till date.Deshmukh's plea came 10 days after the Special Court rejected his default bail application.