Bombay High Court has transferred Special Judge H.S. Satbhai, who was hearing a money laundering case against former Maharashtra Chief Minister Anil Deshmukh, to Yavatmal district with immediate effect.
He was appointed to hear the criminal cases against Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in July 2021 at Session Court in Mumbai. He had remanded Anil Deshmukh to 14-day judicial custody. He was arrested on November 1 under PMLA provisions.
“The High Court has been pleased to transfer and post H S Satbhai, Judge, City Civil Court and Additional Sessions Judge, Mumbai as District Judge – 2 and Additional Sessions Judge, Kelapur, district Yavatmal with immediate effect,” said the notification issued by Bombay High Court on Monday.
Prior to July, Judge Satbhai was hearing cases pertaining to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act from August 2020 to July 2021.
Among some high profile cases, he also heard Maharashtra Sadan scam case and discharged NCP Minister Chhagan Bhujbal while noting that there was no “substantial material” to suggest that he and his kin received any kind of “illegal gratification” in the contract for constructing new Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi.
He was also hearing a pre-arrest bail plea of Shiv Sena MP Anand Adsul in connection to the alleged scam in a cooperative bank.
Judge Satbhai was also hearing the Pune land deal case which involved Maharashtra Minister Eknath Khadse, an Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader.
