Anil Deshmukh Sent Back To ED Custody By Bombay HC

Key Takeaways

• The Bombay High Court has set aside a special court order and granted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody of Anil Deshmukh till November 12 in connection with a money laundering case.

Background

• The Enforcement Directorate (ED) moved an urgent petition before the Bombay High Court challenging the order passed by a holiday court in which former Maharashtra Home minister Anil Deshmukh was sent to judicial custody for 14 days.
• The plea by ED states that despite a request to extend ED custody, Deshmukh was remanded to judicial custody, "thereby denying sufficient and adequate opportunity for investigation".
• The agency said that on the basis of their investigation and "on being satisfied about (Deshmukh) being involved in the money laundering of proceeds of crime, he came to be arrested on 2/11/2021."
• The court had granted Deshmukh's custody to ED last week and while informing the court, the agency had said that he had "refused to cooperate and was giving evasive replies to the questions put by the investigating officer".

Observations

• Justice Madhav J Jamdar of the Bombay HC, while remanding Anil Deshmukh in the agency's custody, observed that prima facie there is substance in ED's contentions about the legality of the special court order passed on November 6.
• Justice Jamdar, in the four-page order, stated that the petition was maintainable while taking umbrage in a Gujarat High Court order of 2012.
• The Bombay HC then remanded Anil Deshmukh to the ED's custody till November 12.

Questions

• What are your opinions on this judgement?
• What do you mean by ‘custody’?

Share your views in the comments section below.