Maharashtra govt agrees to share IPS officer Rashmi Shukla’s report on police postings with CBI

Bombay High Court.

The Maharashtra government told the Bombay High Court on Thursday that it would share a report submitted by IPS officer Rashmi Shukla on alleged corruption in police transfers and postings with the CBI for its probe against former state home minister Anil Deshmukh.

Senior counsel Rafique Dada, appearing for the state government, told a division bench of Justices S S Shinde and N J Jamadar that the documents would be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by August 31.

The court was hearing an application filed by the CBI, claiming that the state government was not cooperating by refusing to hand over certain documents which the agency requires for its investigation against NCP leader Deshmukh over alleged corruption and misuse of official position.

The state government had earlier claimed the documents sought by the CBI did not have any relevance with its probe against Deshmukh.

The bench earlier this month asked the government to reconsider and had asked it to inform if it was willing to share some of the documents.

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The documents sought by the CBI included a letter submitted by Shukla to Maharashtra's Director General of Police, a report on alleged corruption in police transfers and postings, annexures of the report and the panchnama which showed how the documents had been transferred from one department to another.

Rafique Dada told the HC that the panchnama report cannot be handed over as it is part of an investigation initiated by the police on the issue.

Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for the CBI, told the court the panchnama is only required to see the chain of events with regard to handing over of the report.

Dada, however, opposed and said it has no relevance to the probe against Deshmukh.

The HC bench took on record the statement filed by the government on sharing of the report by August 31 and posted the matter for further hearing on September 2.

The HC said such issues should not have come before the court in the first place.

"Both of you (state and CBI)…these matters need not come before the court. On many occasions, the state and CBI share documents and information, especially on intra-state issues and other offences that are spread over different states," the court said.

It said Maharashtra's reputation and development have always been one step ahead of other states since independence. "We need to maintain that," Justice Shinde said.

The CBI in its application filed last month said it had written a letter to the State Intelligence Department, seeking details of a communication sent by Rashmi Shukla on the issue of corruption in police transfers and postings, but the SID refused to provide them claiming it was part of an ongoing investigation.

The high court on July 22 held that the CBI can inquire the allegations of corruption in transfers and postings of police personnel limited to its nexus with Deshmukh, and had dismissed a petition filed by the Maharashtra government seeking that some parts of the central agency''s FIR against the NCP leader be quashed.

The CBI had on April 21 lodged an FIR against Deshmukh on charges of corruption and misuse of official position.

The FIR was lodged after the agency conducted a preliminary enquiry against Deshmukh following an order from the HC on April 5.

Deshmukh, who resigned from the post of home minister in April following corruption allegations against him, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

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