"Courts should not be used for political battles:" Bombay High Court in plea against Minister Anil Parab

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday deferred the hearing in the plea filed by a suspended Inspector in the Regional Transport Office (RTO) in Nashik seeking independent probe into corruption allegations against Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab and other officers..Advocate Ranjeet Sangle appearing for the petitioner, Gajendra Patil, submitted that Patil was a whistleblower. He had tried to bring to the notice of his superior officer the rampant corruption in the RTO departments with respect to postings and transfer of officers, Sangle submitted, adding that Patil was suspended for speaking out. Patil sought for an independent probe by a central investigating agency in his petition filed through Advocates VP Rane and Venkatesh Shewale..The Bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar, however found no urgency in the petition. They also added that with the kind of allegations made in the petition, it the Bench will have to examine the locus of the petitioner and hear the respondents in detail. “Courts should not be used for political battles,” the Bench remarked before posting the matter for hearing on October 8, 2021. .Patil stated in his petition that he had also filed a complaint with the Nashik Police in Maharashtra who initiated a preliminary enquiry into the complaint after Patil moved the High Court. However, he was then informed by the police that the jurisdiction to investigate does not lie with them and his complaint was sent across to the Director General of Police, Maharashtra. .The Cabinet Minister has recently been in the news for having been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering case in which former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh is an accused..Parab also reportedly came under the scanner after dismissed Mumbai Police officer Sachin Waze contended before a special court under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act that he had asked him to extort money amounting approximately to ₹50 crore from a private trust.Waze claimed that he was directed to look into enquiries against "fraudulent contractors" listed in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and was asked to collect ₹2 crore from at least 50 such contractors.