‘Will hand over papers to CBI by August 31’
MUMBAI: The state government on Thursday informed the Bombay high court (HC) that it would hand over by August 31 the certified copies of Rashmi Shukla’s report and related documents to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), for the agency’s probe in the April 21 first information report (FIR) registered by it against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh.
Based on tapped telephonic conversations, the report highlights how certain persons were acting as conduits, helping many senior police officers to secure transfers and lucrative postings using their political connections.
The division bench of justice SS Shinde and justice NJ Jamadar was hearing the application by CBI seeking documents which included the letter submitted by Shukla to the director-general of police and a report on the transfer and postings. CBI had also sought copies of the annexures to the report and digital devices and panchnama which showed how the documents had been transferred from one department to another.
Senior advocate Rafiq Dada, who appeared for the state government, submitted that as per the assurance given to the bench on Monday, the state had agreed to hand over documents, annexures to the documents and digital devices sought by CBI by
August 31.
Dada, however, added that the state would not be able to provide certified copies of the panchnama and was not in a position to respond to the query of CBI as to the number of copies made of the annexures and the digital devices as the same was not known. It was also submitted that the panchnama was not required in the Deshmukh probe. Additional solicitor general Anil Singh, appearing for CBI, submitted that the panchnama was sought only to ascertain the chain of events showing handing over of documents.
The court observed, “In many occasions, the state and CBI share (document and information) especially on intra-state issues, crime spread over other states. Both CBI or you (state agencies) need to co-operate with each other,” said the bench.
On the issue of the panchnama, the court said that it would see the petitions of both CBI and state government, and pass appropriate orders on September 2.