Eknath Ganpatrao Khadse And ORS v. Directorate Of Enforcemet And ANR

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION INTERIM APPLICATION NO. 1572 OF 2026 IN CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 9 OF 2026 Eknath Ganpatrao Khadse And Ors.

... Applicants

Versus

Directorate Of Enforcement And Anr. ... Respondents __________________________________________________________ Mr. Karansingh Rajput a/w Ashish V., for the Applicants. Mrs. Mankunwar Deshmukh, Additional Public Prosecutor for the Respondent No. 1.

__________________________________________________________ CORAM : ASHWIN D. BHOBE, J.

DATE : 7th May, 2026.

P.C. :

1.

This Application is circulated pursuant to the praecipe dated 07.05.2026, same is marked as "X" for identification. At the request of Mr. Karansingh Rajput, learned Advocate for the Applicants, the Interim Application No. 1572 of 2026 was granted circulation and this Application is taken on "Production Board". 2.

Heard Mr. Karansingh Rajput, learned Advocate for the Applicants and Mrs. Mankunwar Deshmukh, learned APP for the Respondent No. 1.

3.

By the present Application, the Applicants have sought for the following relief in terms of prayer clause (b) :- b.

The ad-interim relief granted by this Hon'ble Court vide order dated 10th February, 2026 and thereafter continued vide order dated 24th February 2026, may be continued further until the Hon'ble Division Bench (Special Bench) is constituted and the Criminal Applications of the Applicants are clubbed together;

4.

Mr. Karansingh Rajput, learned Advocate for the Applicants, states that the subject matter of the present Application is required to be dealt with by the Hon'ble Division Bench (Special Bench) constituted for considering the issue pertaining to the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. He submits that the request made by the Applicants to place the Criminal Application No. 9 of 2026 before the Special Bench is pending consideration. He states that the Special Bench has not had a sitting since 24.02.2026. He therefore requests that the interim order passed on 10.02.2026, which was extended on 24.02.2026, be continued till the matter is heard by the Hon'ble Division Bench (Special Bench).

5.

Mrs. Mankunwar Deshmukh, learned Additional PP for Respondent No. 1, submits that Respondent No. 1 objects to the continuation of the interim relief. However, in all fairness, she states that, as the hearing before the Hon'ble Division Bench (Special Bench) has not commenced, the request made by the Applicants in this Application be considered for a limited period. 6.

In view of the above, the order dated 10.02.2026, which was extended on 24.02.2026 and continued till 04.05.2026, is further extended till 22.06.2026, for the purpose of enabling the Applicants to take steps to move the Special Bench. 7.

At the request of Mrs. Mankunwar Deshmukh, learned Additional Public Prosecutor, it is clarified that no further request for extension /continuation of the order shall be entertained. 8.

Interim Application No. 1572 of 2026 is disposed of. (ASHWIN D. BHOBE, J.) Digitally signed by ARJUN KRISHNA RODGE Date:

2026.05.07 22:38:30 +0530 ARJUN KRISHNA RODGE