Nawab Malik appears before judicial commission

The Minister had been issued show cause notice in the Anil Deshmukh case

Nationalist Congress Party leader Nawab Malik appeared on Thursday before a judicial commission that is probing corruption charges against former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh after it issued a show cause notice to him.

The notice was issued on February 16 by the retired justice K.U. Chandiwal after dismissed police officer Sachin Vaze brought to his notice Mr. Malik's comment that former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh and Mr. Vaze were the masterminds behind the bomb scare outside the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani.

“I have never made any statement based on proceedings of the commission and will never do so in future,” Mr. Malik, Maharashtra’s Minister for Minority Development and Aukaf, told the commission.

He also filed an affidavit that stated he had not made any allegations and/or statements prejudicial to any person, including Sachin Vaze, at whose behest the action was initiated (issued show cause notice). “The presumption that any statement was made is highly misleading and erroneous as at no point of time Mr. Malik made any statements involving proceedings before the Commission. Considering that Mr. Deshmukh is unfortunately in judicial custody (Arthur Road Jail), Mr. Malik has had no interaction and/or any opportunity to seek information from him.”

The affidavit says Mr. Malik stated that Mr. Vaze and Mr. Singh are masterminds in the Antilia bomb scare and Mansukh Hiren case based on the chargesheet filed by the National Investigation Agency. Its details are in public domain. He alleged that Mr. Vaze was attempting to get certain reliefs for Mr. Singh, who was hiding and attempting to injure his reputation “by firing the gun from Mr. Vaze’s shoulder”.