SC pulls up Deshmukh for interference, fines Maha govt

SC pulls up Deshmukh for interference, fines Maha govt

The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh for interfering with the criminal justice system and imposed a staggering Rs 10 lakh fine on the state government.

Deshmukh, a senior Congress leader and the current Union Industries minister, was rebuked by the apex court for allegedly preventing police from registering a criminal case against a Congress legislator's money-lender father.

"The (former) Chief Minister should not have interfered with the criminal justice system," said a bench of justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly.

Deshmukh declined to react to the verdict saying he was yet to get the copy but said he will give a response once he gets it.

The apex court gave the order while dismissing the state governmenta's appeal challenging Rs 25,000 imposed on it as cost by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court.

The high court had imposed the fine on 5th March, 2009 on a petition by a group of Buldhana district farmers alleging that the police refused to register a criminal case against Congress legislator Dilipkumar Sanandas father Gokulchand Sananda, a private money-lender.

The high court had imposed the fine after finding "gross interference from the executive" in shielding a private financier belonging to the ruling party.

It had indicted the state government after finding that erstwhile Chief Minister Deshmukh's private secretary Ajinkya Padwal had twice called up the Khamgaon city police station in Maharashtra on 31st May, 2006, to enquire about a complaint against the Congress legislator Sanandas father Gokulchand Sananda.

The high court also found that Deshmukhs secretary had also asked the policemen not to take action on the complaint against Sananda.

The complaint had been filed by Sarnagdharsingh Chavan and his brother Vjaysingh Chavan, who had said they took a loan from Sananda, but were unable to pay it back due the exorbitant interest he levied.

The two brothers also said they took the loan after pledging their farm land to him and their failure to pay back the loan has resulted in confiscation of their land.

In its lawsuit, the state government told the apex court that the so-called PIL was filed with support of Bhausaheb Phudnkar, leader of opposition in the state legislative council, who belonged to the BJP.

The state government had denied that Deshmukhs secretary had called up the police station.

It, however, had admitted that Deshmukh had a meeting with the Buldhana district collector, but that was only to instruct him that action against money-lenders should be taken as per due process of law and it should not be based on motivated complaints.