Param Bir moves HC against state’s ‘motivated’ probe

Former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh has once again approached the Bombay high court challenging two orders passed on April 1 and 20 by the state government directing a preliminary inquiry against him by IPS officer Sanjay Pandey. He has also requested directions to the CBI to investigate “aspect of criminal conspiracy and malicious attempt to thwart its preliminary inquiry” into the allegation of corruption against former home minister Anil Deshmukh.

Mr Singh has sought an urgent hearing on the petition in which he has contended that the order of April 1 issued by the Maharashtra government directing Maharashtra director-general of police (DGP) Sanjay Pande to initiate preliminary inquiry against him by invoking Section 32 of CrPC in alleged suspicion of violation of service matter under All-India Service (Conduct) Rules, 1968, is ex-facie, illegal, outside the frame of law and therefore cannot sustain in light of the settled principles of law.

He has stated that he “apprehends that the departmental enquiry is motivated and will not be fair and transparent”.

Mr Singh also apprehends that coercive steps will be taken against him and he has sought orders for it to be set aside. He has claimed that empowerment of the DGP to conduct the said departmental enquiry u/s 32 of the code of criminal procedure is itself illegal as the said section has no provision

to assign the power of departmental enquiry through the DGP of Maharashtra or any other officer of the force.

Mr Singh’s lawyer mentioned the petition before a division bench of Justices S.S. Shinde and Manish Pitale and sought an urgent hearing.

Mr Singh had in an eightpage letter to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on March 20 alleged that Mr Deshmukh met with subordinate police officers including suspended assistant police inspector Sachin Waze in February and asked for collection of `100 crore.