NEW DELHI: It is a "very disturbing" scenario in Maharashtra where former police commissioner Param Bir Singh does not have faith in his own force and the state government has no faith in the CBI, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday.
A bench comprising Justices S K Kaul and M M Sundresh made this observation after the counsel for the former police chief submitted that the state police was trying to corner him in departmental cases.
A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M M Sundresh wondered if there is a possibility of resolving the matter peacefully instead of every probe getting stuck for want of faith in the authorities.
Senior advocate Puneet Bali, representing Singh, submitted that his client is being targeted and added that the matter was handed over to the CBI, but the state government has tried to scuttle the proceedings of the CBI.
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Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, referred to a chain of events in which the state government does not want the CBI to proceed as per the law, making it difficult to proceed against Deshmukh. Senior advocate Darius Khambata, representing the Maharashtra government, urged the top court to resolve the matter.
After hearing arguments in the matter, the top court extended the protection from arrest granted to Param Bir Singh in the cases and scheduled the matter for further hearing on January 27.
Singh has challenged the Bombay High Court order on September 16 dismissing his plea against two preliminary inquiries initiated by the state government and sought transfer of cases against him to the CBI.
In his petition in the high court, Singh had claimed that inquiries were initiated against him after he accused Deshmukh of ordering arrested police officer Sachin Vaze to collect money from bars and restaurants to the tune of Rs 100 crore. Singh claimed the home department resorted to a witch hunt after he refused to withdraw his letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, where he had made corruption allegations against Deshmukh.
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