- Supreme Court has decided to not trust Maharashtra Police for Param Bir Singh case and handed it over to CBI
- Param Bir Singh had specially requested to hang him if found guilty, but not leave his fate in the hands of state Police
- MVA coalition is facing troubles which include investigations from agencies as well as infighting
The problems for MVA government in Maharashtra keep piling up day by day. Now, they have received a tight slap from the Hon’ble Supreme Court. The apex Court has not shown much faith on the Maharashtra Police with respect to investigation in the Param Bir Singh case.
Hand Param Bir Singh Case to CBI-SC
Supreme Court has given its assent to transferring the Param Bir Singh case to the CBI. The Court made some sharp comments on the working of the law and order machinery under the MVA government. The Court especially emphasized that the principles of “impartial enquiry” and “advancement of principles of justice and fair play” would be better served if the matter is transferred to CBI.
The drama between Param Bir Singh and MVA government started in March, 2021. Explosives were recovered outside Antila, Mukesh Ambani’s house. At that time, Param Bir Singh was the Police Commissioner of Mumbai. Singh was removed from his post alleging that he had caused lapses in investigation of the origin of recovered explosives. He was transferred to Home Guards.
After his suspension, Singh informed Uddhav Thackeray that Anil Deshmukh, the Home Minister in MVA government had directed Maharashtra Police to recover Rs.100 crore every month by extorting money from bars and restaurants. Deshmukh had to resign after the allegation surfaced in media.
Read more: Param Bir Singh knows a lot and powerful people are trying to keep his mouth shut
Later, within a period of four months, five separate FIRs against Singh were registered by Maharashtra police. In December, 2021, Singh was suspended by MVA government.
Supreme Court passed scathing comments
Singh had pleaded to the Bombay High Court to transfer these cases to CBI as he did not trust Maharashtra Police for free and fair enquiry. The High Court had refused to transfer the cases, calling it a service dispute. So, Param Bir Singh decided to approach the Highest Court for transferring the cases to CBI.
A Bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M.M. Sundresh opined that people are losing confidence in state police. Commenting that an impartial investigation is a must in this case, judges said, “It has become a show in front of the public (of) how systems do not work. This matter should be investigated and resolved at the earliest because it has an element of public faith in the administration which is involved. The objective is to embolden and gain the people’s confidence in the police force by an impartial investigation which is necessary,”
Hinting that months of legal and political cross firing could affect state police’s investigation, the Court said, “It is not a coincidental occurrence or occurrences arising from the aforesaid but we do believe prima facie there has been some concerted effort in this direction arising from the intense battle which needs investigation by an agency outside the state police.”
Court won’t allow ‘murky’ fight to affect the investigation
The Court also termed the fight between MVA government (specially Anil Deshmukh) and Param Bir Singh as ‘murky’. It also refused to accept the High Court’s argument of calling it a service dispute. “We are unable to accept the findings of the High court which treats these are service disputes. We set aside the HC verdict”, said the Court
Apparently, Maharashtra government tried every possible measure to stop the case from being handed over to CBI. It even requested the Court to monitor the probe being done by state police and then transfer it to CBI; if Police investigations are not sufficient. On the other hand, Param Bir Singh had shown zero trust in state machinery run by Uddhav Thackeray government.
Read more: Param Bir Singh cost the Maha Vikas Aghadi their home minister. Now he will pay the price for it
Singh expressed his dissatisfaction with Thackeray government in following words, “Hang me and take me to task if I am at fault but do not leave me at the mercy of the state.”
MVA government in trouble
This is not the only case MVA government is dealing with. Nawab Malik, one of the key faces of the coalition, is being investigated by Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case. FIRs and Cross FIRs have become a common sight in power circles of state. Uddhav Thackeray government even accused ED officers of running an extortion racket for BJP.
Read more: MVA coalition is reminiscing of Indira era
MVA government is the mother of all contradictions. It is made of ideologically opposite parties. Not a single party is happy under coalition. It was evident in BJP’s victory in recent local polls. Supreme Court order will lead to further decrement in their legitimacy as well as fame.