Bombay HC dismisses ex-Mumbai Police chief’s plea challenging preliminary inquiries against him

The Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh challenging two preliminary inquiries against him, the Hindustan Times reported.

The court directed Singh to approach the Central Administrative Tribunal instead.

While one of the preliminary inquiries pertains to alleged dereliction of duty and misconduct, the other one is related to corruption charges. Both of them were initiated by the Maharashtra government.

Singh, in his petition before the Bombay High Court, contended that the inquiries were an attempt to thwart an investigation into former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

Singh has accused Deshmukh of extorting money from owners of bars, restaurants and hookah parlours in Mumbai. The former state minister had denied the accusations, but resigned from the Cabinet on April 5 after the Bombay High Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the allegations.

In response to Singh’s petition before the High Court, the Maharashtra government argued that the matter was covered by the Administrative Tribunals Act, Bar and Bench reported.

Singh had also objected to Director General of Police Sanjay Pandey conducting the investigation against him. On this point, the state government told the court that Pandey had recused himself from the investigation, and so the grievance stood resolved.

Senior advocate Darius Khambata, appearing for the Maharashtra government, contended that Singh’s…

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