Mumbai Court remands Anil Deshmukh to judicial custody in money laundering case

A Mumbai court on Monday remanded former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh to 14 days of judicial custody in relation to the money laundering case against him..Advocate Shreeram Shirsat appearing for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) today, prayed for judicial custody of Deshmukh..The maximum custody that the ED can be granted is 14 days, which had already elapsed. In light of this, Additional Sessions Judge HS Satbhai remanded Deshmukh to judicial custody. .Advocates Aniket Nikam and Inderpal Singh appearing for Deshmukh requested the Court to permit Deshmukh to receive prescribed medicines and home-cooked food while in custody. They stated that considering his age, and the fact that he has recently recovered from COVID-19, it was a “harmless request”..Judge Satbhai permitted Deshmukh to receive medications as prescribed by his doctors, subject to consultation of the prison medical officer. The judge also directed jail authorities to give him a bed upon requests by the lawyers..His application for home-cooked food was kept pending. Deshmukh was granted liberty to move the Court in the event he has issues with the food in prison. .The ED had initiated a probe against Deshmukh and his associates after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a first information report (FIR) following a court-directed enquiry into allegations of corruption and misuse of his official position.ED had issued five summons to Deshmukh, to which he responded seeking permission to attend the questioning through his authorised representatives. Deshmukh had not complied with any of the summons..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.Deshmukh appeared before the ED officials on Monday, November 1. After interrogation for about 12 hours, he was arrested post midnight on Tuesday. A Mumbai court had then allowed ED custody of Deshmukh till November 6, 2021..A Sessions Court then turned down the ED's plea for extension of custody, and Deshmukh 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 today.