The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to Sanjeev Palande, former private secretary of NCP leader Anil Deshmukh, in a money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

A single bench of Justice N J Jamadar granted bail to Palande, who has been in jail since he was arrested by the ED in June 2021.A detailed order on the same is awaited.

Palande, however, will not be able to walk out of jail, as he is also facing a case of corruption being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).The ED sought the high court to stay its order granting bail which was refused.

The high court had granted Deshmukh bail in the ED's case in October this year.

The ED's allegation primarily revolves around Deshmukh asking former Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze to extort money from various business establishments.

According to the probe agency, Palande had given instructions on behalf of Deshmukh to Waze for collection of money.The ED's case of money laundering against Deshmukh, who was the home minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, Palande and others, came after the CBI booked him in a corruption case related to allegations of extortion made by former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh.

The ED claimed that Deshmukh had misused his official position and collected Rs 4.70 crore from various bars in Mumbai.

The money was laundered to Nagpur-based Shri Sai Shikshan Sansthan, an educational trust controlled by the Deshmukh family, it alleged.