SC refuses to entertain Param Bir Singh's plea for transfer of inquiries to independent agency outside Maharashtra

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 11

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh’s petition seeking transfer of all enquiries against him to an independent agency outside Maharashtra.

“You served Maharashtra cadre for 30 years and now say you don’t have faith in the state police… it’s shocking!” a Vacation Bench led by Justice Hemant Gupta told senior counsel Mahesh Jethmalani, who represented Singh.

The Bench, however, gave him liberty to approach any appropriate forum after Jethmalani chose to withdraw the petition.

As the senior counsel made arguments for transfer of probes against Singh, the Bench remarked, “Mr. Jethmalani, it is said persons living in glasshouses should not throw stones at others.”

“Your Lordships are assuming that I (Singh) am living in a glasshouse,” Jethmalani replied.

But the top court wasn’t inclined to entertain Singh’s petition.

“You have experience of criminal law. Can there really be a blanket stay on FIRs lodged against you ? We are not dealing with all FIRs. There are different Magistrates to deal with it,” the Bench told Jethmalani.

The case was assigned to Justice Gupta’s Bench after Justice B R Gavai on May 18 recused himself from hearing his plea.

Singh, a 1988-batch IPS officer, was removed from the post of Mumbai Police Commissioner on March 17 and was made the General Commander of Maharashtra State Home Guard after he levelled allegations of corruption and misconduct against the then Home Minister and senior NCP leader Anil Deshmukh.

The Bombay High Court had ordered a CBI probe into allegations of Singh against Deshmukh who had to resign as the minister.

He has alleged that he has been made to face several probes by the state government and its instrumentalities and sought their transfer outside Maharashtra and a probe into them by an independent agency like the CBI.

Singh has been facing enquiries, including the one under the SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in a case of 2015 and he has termed this as a witch-hunt by the state agency.