Bombay HC to decide on maintainability of Param Bir Singh's PIL on Monday

Mumbai, Apr 2: The Bombay High Court on April 5 will pronounce its order on whether a PIL filed by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh seeking CBI probe against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh should be heard further.

Singh's plea alleged that Deshmukh had asked police officers, including suspended assistant police inspector Sachin Waze who has been arrested in the case of bomb scare near industrialist Mukesh Ambani''s residence here, to collect Rs 100 crore each month from bars and restaurants.

The public interest litigation also alleged corruption in police transfers and postings and political interference in probes.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G S Kulkarni had on March 31 reserved its order on the issue of maintainability of the PIL (whether it should be taken up for final hearing or dismissed at the preliminary stage).

The Maharashtra government''s lawyer argued that the petition was not maintainable as Singh had vested interests and the plea was a result of his transfer from the post of Mumbai police commissioner to the low-key Homes Guards.

The bench will on April 5 pronounce its order.

The court will also give its ruling in three other petitions filed by lawyers Jayshri Patil and Ghanshyam Upadhyay and professor Mohan Bhide seeking independent probe into Singh''s allegations against Deshmukh.