Bombay High Court Anil Vasantrao Deshmukh vs Directorate Of Enforcement And Anr on 29 October, 2021 skn 1 3_APL625.2021.edited 2.doc CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 625 OF 2021 Shri Anil Vasantrao Deshmukh, Son of late Shri Vasantrao Deshmukh, Aged: 71 years, Occ: MLA/former Home Minister, Residing at Dnyaneshwar Bungalow, Malabar Hills, Mumbai400006. ... Applicant. V/s. 1. Directorate of Enforcement, Through its Director, 6th Floor, Lok Nayak Bhawan, Khan Street, New Delhi 110003. 2. Assistant Director, Directorate of Enforcement, Mumbai ZoneI, 4th Floor, KaisereHind Building, Ballard Estate, Mumbai 400038. 3. State of Maharashtra Through its Secretary, Home Department, Madam Cama Road, Mumbai 400032. ... Respondents. Mr. Vikram Choudhary, Senior Advocate with Mr. Ashok Mundargi, Senior Advocate,Mr.Inderpal B. Singh, Mr.Aniket Ujjwal Nikam and Harpreet Singh J. Purewal for the Applicant. skn 2 3_APL625.2021.edited 2.doc Mr.Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General with Mr.Aman Lekhi, Addl. Solicitor General, Mr.Anil C. Singh, Addl. Solicitor General, Mr.Zoheb Hossian, Special Counsel , Mr.Kanu Agarwal, Mr.Vivek Gumani, Mr.Aditya Thakkar, Mr.Ujjwal Sinha, Mr.Aniket Seth, Mr.Ritwiz Rishabh, Kr.Kunwar Aditya Singh and D.P.Singh i/b. Shriram Shirsat for Respondent Nos.1 and 2. Mr.J.P.Yagnik, APP for Respondent No.3 State. CORAM : NITIN JAMDAR AND SARANG V. KOTWAL, JJ. (Through Video Conferencing) DATE : 29 October 2021. JUDGMENT : (Per Nitin Jamdar, J.) The Applicant has filed this criminal application for various reliefs, primarily pertaining to the summons issued by the RespondentDirectorate of Enforcement under section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. 2. The Applicant, at the relevant time, was the Home Minister in the State of Maharashtra. The then Commissioner of Police, Mr.Param Bir Singh, wrote a letter to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on 20 March 2021 alleging that Applicant abused his position and powers to seek illegal monetary benefits. Writ Petition No.1541of 2021 was filed in this Court by one Dr. Jayashree Patil skn 3 3_APL625.2021.edited 2.doc seeking a direction for investigation against the Applicant. Mr. Param Bir Singh filed a Public Interest Litigation No.6of 2021 on 24 March 2021, seeking a direction for investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The Division Bench of this Court, by judgment and order dated 5 April 2021, disposed of these petitions and directed a preliminary enquiry into the complaint and allegations. The enquiry was directed to be concluded within fifteen days with liberty to the CBI to decide on further action to be taken. The Applicant challenged the order passed by the Division Bench in the Supreme Court by filing Special Leave Petition (Criminal) Diary No.9414/2021. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition by order dated 8 April 2021. 3. The preliminary enquiry was conducted. Upon this preliminary enquiry, FIR No.RC2232021A0003 was filed by the CBI on 21 April 2021 under section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and under section 120B of the Indian Penal Code against the Applicant and other unknown persons. The Applicant filed a Criminal Writ Petition No.1904/2021 for quashing the FIR registered by the CBI on 21 April 2021. The Division Bench of this Court dismissed the writ petition by order dated 22 July 2021. The Applicant filed a special leave petition challenging the order dated 22 July 2021 passed by the Division Bench of this Court. The Supreme Court rejected the petition by order dated 18 August 2021. skn 4 3_APL625.2021.edited 2.doc 4. Thereafter, the Respondent no. 1 and 2 Directorate of Enforcement (Directorate)registered ECIR/MBZOI/66/2021 against the Applicant under section 3 read with section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). A search was carried out at the residence of the Applicant and his son on 25 June 2021. Respondent No.2 issued a summons to the Applicant on 25 June 2021, requiring him to remain present on the date assigned. The Applicant sent his authorized representative with a written reply on 26 June 2021. On 28 June 2021, the Directorate issued the second summons to the Applicant to appear in person on 29 June 2021. The Applicant sent a written reply through his authorized representative. The third summons