MUMBAI: The Bombay High court on Monday granted conditional bail to former Maharashtra home minister and senior NCP leader Anil Deshmukh in a Rs 100 crore corruption case, filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He has been released on bail on a surety amount of Rs 1 lakh.
However, he is unlikely to walk out of jail as the central probe agency has sought time to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court in the coming days. The Bombay High court has given ten more days to CBI to file the appeal against its bail order in the apex court. The 74 years old Anil Deshmukh is locked at Arthur road jail.
A single bench of Justice M S Karnik was hearing his bail plea on Monday. Anil Deshmukh had sought bail both on medical grounds as well as on merits. While granting bail, the Bombay High court put some conditions on Anil Deshmukh such as he should not leave Mumbai, he should deposit his passport and once a week, he should present at the CBI office if there is an inquiry.
The former Maharashtra home minister has been in jail since November last year after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case. IPS officer Param Bir Singh had in March 2021 alleged that Deshmukh, then home minister, had given a target to police officers to collect Rs 100 crore per month from restaurants and bars in Mumbai.
It was one of the biggest political controversies during the tenure of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. Deshmukh was forced to step down after this serious allegation against him.
The Enforcement Directorate and the CBI have filed separate cases against Deshmukh. Last month, the CBI told the high court that Deshmukh, in the money laundering case, is not eligible for bail.