Param Bir Singh has nothing more to say, complaint hearsay: Singh’s lawyer to Chandiwal Commission

Senior IPS Officer Param Bir Singh informed the single-member High Level Commission of retired Bombay High Court judge, Justice KU Chandiwal that he does not wish to appear before the Commission since he has nothing to add to the complaint already raised..The Inquiry Committee had been constituted by the Maharashtra government in order to conduct a probe into the allegations levelled by Singh against former State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh..Advocate Abhinav Chandrachud appearing for Singh, informed the Commission that even if Singh were to appear and depose, it will be based on the letter which he addressed to the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray which forms the basis of the court-directed enquiry by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the present inquiry commission..Chandrachud added that even the letter included all hearsay evidence based on what the subordinates had informed him.He added that even if Singh was directed to file an affidavit, it would hold no value because it would be what someone else told him..The Inquiry Committee had previously imposed costs on Singh for non-appearance and then even proceeded to issue a bailable warrant of ₹50,000 after such non-appearance.Despite that, Singh had failed to personally remain present for the hearing..Advocate Yogesh Naidu appearing for dismissed Mumbai cop Sachin Waze who was summoned by the Inquiry Committee for deposition, argued that after Singh had been granted interim protection from arrest by the Supreme Court, he would be in a position to appear and be examined..Naidu argued that instead of further complicating the matter, the complainant ought to “step in the witness box” and depose.“We are participating in good faith. Since this is a fact finding commission, the best evidence should come from the primary source and then the anciallary evidence should be brought in," Naidu contended..After Justice Chandiwal recorded Chandrachud’s statement, he began with Waze’s cross examination..Advocate Shekhar Jagtap representing Deshmukh's secretary Sanjeev Palande, asked Waze about his reinstatement into the police service after he had been suspended in 2004..After giving a brief history of his time in the service and how he came to be suspended, Waze pointed out that officially during his earlier tenure, he had never worked with Singh as his subordinate until he was reinstated in June 2020..When Jagtap questioned if Waze had specifically applied for reinstatement after suspension, Waze responded that he had applied for reinstatement at the instance of Deshmukh.He added that it was factually incorrect that the order was issued by Singh, as it had in fact been issued by the review committee..He also apprised the Commission that he had been appointed as the head of the Crime Branch by the then Joint Commissioner Santosh Rastogi and until August 30, 2020, Singh had never assigned any specific cases to him for investigation..Waze’s deposition will continue on Wednesday.