SC declines to consider former Mumbai top cop's 'witch-hunt' plea

The Supreme Court on Friday questioned former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh for making serious allegations against his own police force, saying "people who lived in glass houses should not throw stones at others".

The top court declined to consider a fresh petition filed by Singh for transfer of all the probes, ordered against him, outside Maharashtra, following his explosive letter alleging Rs 100 crore extortion target against then Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

“You been in the force for 30 years; you can’t now say move inquiries outside the state. You can't have doubts over your own force. This is a shocking allegation," a bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubramanian told Singh's counsel senior advocate, Mahesh Jethmalani.

The counsel contended that he has been honest and come out, but there are officers who may be victimised by State DGP Sanjay Pandey. "All I want is that no new FIR should be lodged without permission from this court," he said.

"People who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others," the bench said, questioning him if it was possible for other state agencies to probe the officer.

The court refused to entertain the matter, while Singh's other counsel sought liberty to approach the High Court.

In his plea, Singh alleged witch-hunt following his sensational charges of fixing monthly extortion target of Rs 100 crore against Deshmukh.

Singh asked the top court to transfer all investigations already initiated or contemplated against him to the CBI, which was already probing the charges against Deshmukh.

The CBI had already lodged an FIR in the matter on April 21 after the top court declined to interfere the Bombay High Court's order for preliminary investigation against Deshmukh.

Singh, who himself faced proceedings afterward, sought a direction to the state authorities not to initiate any inquiry or investigation or coercive action against him without a permission from the top court.

Within days of his transfer to Homeguards department on March 17, Singh had accused the then Minister of setting a collection target of Rs 100 crore for former API Sachin Vaze of Crime Intelligence Unit, Mumbai, arrested in the Antilia bomb scare case.