SC asks ex-Mumbai CP to approach HC against Deshmukh

Former Mumbai CP Param Bir Singh

The Supreme Court on Wednesday termed as "quite serious" the matter in which former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh has filed a plea against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, but asked the IPS officer to approach the Bombay High Court with his grievances. The apex court said both Singh and Deshmukh have levelled allegations and it appeared that a lot of material, which has come in the public domain, is a consequence of "personas falling out" after parties in the matter being "hunky-dory" for a long time.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and R Subhash Reddy granted liberty to Singh, who withdrew from the top court his plea seeking direction for an "impartial and fair" CBI probe into alleged corrupt practices of Deshmukh, to approach the high court. "We have no doubt that the matter is quite serious and affects the administration at large. It also appears that a lot of material which has come in public domain is a consequence of the personas falling out," the bench said in its order.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Singh, said they would file a petition before the high court during the day and would like the matter to be taken up tomorrow itself. "That, in our view, would be an appropriate prayer made to the high court and not by a direction from this court," the bench said. During the arguments conducted through video-conferencing, Rohatgi referred to the apex court's verdict in Prakash Singh case, which dealt with police reforms.

"In our view, this is only a mantra recited periodically, wherever the occasion so suits, and there has been no seriousness by all concerned to ever implement the directions enshrined in the judgment," the bench said. It said that directions given in Prakash Singh verdict were based on the principle of "insulating police machinery from political/executive interference" to make it more efficient and to strengthen the rule of law.

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