SC judge recuses from hearing ex-Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh's plea on witch-hunt

Supreme Court Justice B R Gavai on Tuesday recused from hearing a fresh petition filed by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh for transfer of all the probes, ordered against him, outside Maharashtra.

As soon as the matter came up for hearing before a two-judge vacation bench presided over by Justice Vineet Saran, Justice Gavai preferred to opt out due to "some difficulty" in taking up the matter.

The case, in which Singh alleged witch-hunt until he withdrew his charges of fixing a monthly extortion target of Rs 100 crore against then Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, would now be posted before another bench.

In his writ petition, 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 former Minister and NCP leader, Deshmukh.

Also read: Alleging witch-hunt, ex-Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh moves SC

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

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

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