HC dismisses Param Bir Singh’s plea for quashing of inquiries

The Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed the petition filed by senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Param Bir Singh challenging two preliminary inquiries initiated against him by the Maharashtra government.A Bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar held that the plea was not maintainable before the High Court and directed Singh to approach the appropriate forum which will then decide the matter without prejudice to present order of the High Court.
Singh challenged two preliminary enquiries initiated against him by the Maharashtra government over allegations of dereliction of duty, misconduct and corruption. In the petition filed through advocate Ajay Bhise, Singh claimed that the enquiries were an attempt to thwart the inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.
Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, who had appeared for Singh, had said, “It is obvious from the circumstances that it was issued out of confusion and vendetta. Singh complained against Anil Deshmukh and instead of inquiring into that, the state punished the whistleblower... They are trying to shoot the messenger.”