Fadnavis misused his position to benefit Axis bank, blames Uke; Bombay HC issues notice to the ex-CM

Misusing his position as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra former CM Devendra Fadnavis ordered police personnel to transfer their account to the Axis bank – a private bank where his wife Amruta Fadnavis is working at a senior position, alleged advocate Satish Uke on Thursday.

Uke – who is credited to expose many corruption cases along with the Loya case, appeared in the Bombay High Court, representing Mohnish Jabalpure – the petitioner who pleaded probe into the matter and revocation of the order.

Hearing upon Jabalpure’s petition, the Bombay High Court sought BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis’s response with regard to the allegation of transfer of salary accounts of the police department to Axis Bank within eight weeks.

A division bench comprising justice Ravi Deshpande and Amit Borkar also issued notices to the Additional Chief Secretary of the home department of the Maharashtra government and the Director-General of Police, seeking affidavits-in-reply within eight weeks.

Jabalpure alleged that Fadnavis misused his powers as chief minister to help Axis Bank at the expense of public sector lenders.

Citing a circular issued by the then BJP-led government on May 11, 2017, which affected the transfer of salary accounts of police personnel as well as beneficiaries of the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana to Axis Bank, Jabalpure said that transfer of accounts to a private bank caused huge loss to the nationalized banks.

Seeking revocation of the decision and probe into the matter, Jabalpure claimed that former BJP CM had ordered the transfer of accounts on the saying of his wife. However, a senior official was quoted as saying last year that salary accounts of the police force were with UTI Bank – later renamed as Axis Bank -- since 2005, much before Fadnavis became chief minister in 2014.