Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has tendered his resignation to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday after facing allegations of corruption levelled by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh.

In his resignation letter to Maharashtra CM, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh says he doesn’t find it morally correct to continue as the home minister after Bombay High Court’s order.

The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to conduct a preliminary investigation into allegations of corruption levelled against the Maharashtra Home Minister.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G.S. Kulkarni has asked the CBI to complete its `preliminary probe` within 15 days on the issues raised by Former Mumbai top cop Parambir Singh in his ‘letter-bomb` last month.

The court also directed the agency to register an FIR if any cognizable offence is found.

Param Bir Singh repeated the graft allegations that he had made against Deshmukh in a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, and also accused the Maharashtra Home Minister of interfering in police investigations and involving in severe “malpractices”.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA’s) other allies Shiv Sena and Congress had categorically stated that Singh’s letter was “a conspiracy to destabilize the government” and ostensibly written under “pressure” from central agencies.

Nawab Malik, the NCP National Spokesperson, and Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister said there were “too many” loopholes and until a full-fledged probe was carried out into all allegations raised, “there’s no question of Deshmukh’s resignation” and that Singh wrote the letter after he had been removed from the post of Mumbai CP.

Revenue Minister (Congress) Balasaheb Thorat said that the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) keeps targeting the government and different ministers, Sena’s Chief Spokesperson and MP Sanjay Raut said that the issue has “served to malign the image of the MVA”.

However, Prambir Singh said that the allegations filed in the petition were “hard facts coming from the person who occupied the highest post in the police force in the city and from someone who has served for more than 30 years.”

The court had reserved its orders after hearing Singh`s petition and some other PILs pertaining to the issue, on March 31. He has been arrested in the SUV case and is in NIA custody.

Former Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh set off a major row last month when he alleged that Deshmukh had asked suspended Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze to collect Rs 100 crore from Mumbai’s restaurants, bars and hookah bars.

(With agency inputs)