‘Want to respond to plea into CBI probe against Deshmukh’

MUMBAI: Advocate Dr Jaishri Patil has moved a praecipe in the Bombay high court (HC), seeking that she be added as a respondent in the petitions filed by the Maharashtra government as well as former state home minister Anil Deshmukh. The government and Deshmukh have sought an interpretation of HC’S April 5 order, which directed an independent probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into corruption allegations made by former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh against the politician.

Patil has claimed that as the independent probe ordered by HC was based on her complaint to Malabar Hill police, she should have been added as a respondent in both the petitions. However, as neither the state nor Deshmukh had done so, HC should consider her application and be allowed as a respondent in the petitions.

Pointing to the fact that the state had tried to bypass her and pressed for an urgent hearing on May 21 before the bench of justice SJ Kathawalla and justice SP Tavade, Patil in her praecipe has said that the government wanted another bench to interpret parts of the April 5 order to suit its purpose.

She has stated that as the order was passed by the bench headed by the chief justice, the

interpretation of the order should also be done by the same bench.

Justifying her request to be included as respondent, Dr Patil said that as her complaint was the basis of the April 5 order, she should be given an opportunity to explain the grounds of the plaint and the Singh’s intention in the letter which he wrote to the chief minister on March 20 making the allegations against Deshmukh.

The praecipe has sought tagging her application along with the petitions filed by the state and Deshmukh, so that she may also be heard and allowed to be added as a respondent.