One-man judicial panel to probe Param Bir's charges against Anil Deshmukh; 6-month limit

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday constituted a one-man high-level inquiry committee to probe ex-Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh's 'extortion' charges against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. This comes on the lines of what the Congress party- a key constituent of the Maha Vikas Aghadi had demanded. The panel comprising retired Bombay High Court judge Kailash Uttamchand Chandiwal will have to submit its report in 6 months' time. The details regarding his remuneration and other perks will be announced in a separate order. 

Here is the mandate of the committee:

• Has Param Bir Singh given any proof in his letter to substantiate his charges against Home Minister Anil Deshmukh or any official working in his department?
• Do the charges based on the information procured from ACP Sanjay Patil and suspended Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze indicate that Deshmukh or anyone from his department has committed offences so as to necessitate probe by any investigative agency?
• Any other recommendations pertaining to this.

Allegations against Anil Deshmukh

The controversy came to the fore on February 20 when Param Bir Singh levelled serious 'extortion' charges against Anil Deshmukh. In a letter addressed to Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, Singh refuted Deshmukh's remarks that his transfer was due to serious lapses in the Antilia bomb scare case. Moreover, he alleged that the NCP leader had asked Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze to extort Rs.100 crore per month from 1750 bars, restaurants and other establishments in Mumbai. However, the Maharashtra Home Minister rejected these claims and announced that he will file a defamation suit against Singh. 

While NCP chief Sharad Pawar has dismissed the need for Deshmukh's resignation, the MVA as a collective is yet to officially rule out this possibility. On March 24, a division bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and R Subhash Reddy refused to entertain Singh's plea seeking a CBI probe into the alleged "corrupt malpractices" of the Maharashtra Home Minister. Terming the matter as "quite serious", it granted liberty to the petitioner to withdraw the plea and approach the Bombay High Court instead. Now, a two-judge bench of the Bombay HC comprising Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni will hear his plea on Wednesday.