Mumbai: NCP (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh on Tuesday requested Maharashtra Governor Jishnu Dev Varma to direct the state government to make public the final report of the Chandiwal Commission, which investigated allegations levelled against him by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh.
Background of the Case
In a letter to the governor, Deshmukh, a former state home minister, said the government had not released the report even four years after receiving it. The state government had appointed the commission headed by retired Bombay High Court judge Justice K U Chandiwal to probe allegations related to the "Rs 100-crore extortion case."
In March 2021, Param Bir Singh alleged in a letter to the then chief minister that Deshmukh had set a monthly 'collection' target of Rs 100 crore for police officials. Deshmukh denied the allegations and resigned after the Bombay High Court ordered a preliminary CBI inquiry.
Commission's Report Submitted in 2022
The commission submitted its 1,400-page final report on April 26, 2022, Deshmukh stated in the letter to the governor. He added that he had written 11 letters to the chief minister seeking publication of the report, and also written to the chief secretary and secretaries of concerned departments.
Deshmukh emphasized that the commission's conclusions, observations, and recommendations were directly related to the allegations against him and concerned his public and personal rights. "If the government appoints a commission to investigate allegations against an individual, but subsequently conceals the report from that individual and the public, it would severely undermine faith in the judicial system," he said.
Demand for Transparency
Deshmukh also sought to know what action the government had taken on the commission's findings, and why the report was not tabled before the state legislature. He requested the governor to direct the state government to publish the complete report, and examine the reasons behind the delay in making it public.
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