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t was foolhardy of the MVA govt to appeal in SC against Bombay HC verdict ordering CBI probe, writes Olav Albuquerque
So, the MVA government has burnt the taxpayers’ money by defending Anil Deshmukh, engaging top lawyers Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, both of whom charge over Rs one crore to argue a matter which was doomed to fail
The most foolhardy ploy of the Maharashtra government was to appeal in the Supreme Court against the Bombay high court verdict ordering a CBI probe into whether Anil Deshmukh ordered jailed encounter cop Sachin Vaze to extort Rs 100 crore every month from 1,750 dance bars in Mumbai. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray could have left Deshmukh to fend for himself, but the government has now shown it has a lot to hide.Justice Sanjay Kaul rightly observed the allegations against the government were ‘serious’. “Both the home minister and the police chief were working closely together till they fell apart, both holding a particular position. Should the CBI not probe? The nature of these allegations and persons involved require an independent probe,” he said.
