Anil Deshmukh extortion case: Sachin Waze's plea for turning approver dismissed

Former Mumbai cop Sachin Waze is also an accused along with Deshmukh and others who are accused of laundering money that they had allegedly extorted from businessmen in lieu of protection by the state government.

In Short

• Sachin Waze one of accused in corruption case against Anil Deshmukh
• Waze sought to turn approver in lieu of pardon in the case
• Enforcement Directorate opposed Waze's pardon plea

A special court in Mumbai on Friday rejected former cop Sachin Waze's plea for turning approver, holding that it was not a case where several offenders may escape due to lack of evidence in the money laundering case against former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and others.

Waze is also an accused along with Deshmukh and others who are accused of laundering money that they had allegedly extorted from businessmen in lieu of protection by the state government.

Special judge Aditee Kadam noted that the evidence collected by the probe agencies, with the specific provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is sufficient to show the concern of the applicant and other accused with the alleged offence.

The court was hearing a plea for pardon in lieu of turning approver and full disclosure against Deshmukh and other accused that Waze had filed.

He had filed a similar application in the CBI case related to corruption against Deshmukh and the CBI had given its nod, after which a special CBI court had granted a pardon to him in lieu of full disclosure.

"By filing an application of such a nature, Waze admits that he was privy to the offence allegedly committed by the accused. In such a background, there is no need to seek evidence from the co-accused with a view to fastening liability against other offenders only", said Justice Kadam, while pointing out that the ex-Mumbai cop's application was devoid of merits and thus deserved to be rejected.

The application was opposed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), who claimed that prosecution under the PMLA is against the proceeds of crime with entirely different motives than the other prosecution agency.

"Therefore, considering the nature of the investigation and evidence collected by the ED, it is not required to grant a pardon to Waze, which amounts to giving him a clean chit, when he is equally liable for the offence committed", the ED contended.

The court further observed that the objective of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) Section 306 is to allow pardon in cases where serious offences have been committed by several people and, with the aid of the pardoned person's evidence, the case may be brought to its logical conclusion.

The basis of the tender of pardon is not to the extent of culpability of the pardoned accused, but the principle is to prevent the escape of the offenders from punishment for serious offences for lack of evidence, the special court added.

The ED's case is that while serving as Home Minister of Maharashtra, Deshmukh, through the then Assistant Police Inspector, Waze collected Rs 4.70 crore from various bars and restaurants in Mumbai. The money was then laundered and routed to the Nagpur-based Shri Sai Shikshan Sansthan, an educational trust controlled by the Deshmukh family.

Waze is also an accused in the 'Antilia' bomb scare and businessman Mansukh Hiran murder case, which is being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Waze is currently lodged in Taloja Central Prison in this case.