Satish Uke, a Nagpur-based lawyer, and his brother Pradeep were detained on Thursday in connection with a money-laundering probe. According to authorities, the brothers were arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and were scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
Maharashtra | Enforcement Directorate detains advocate Satish Uke following a raid at his residence in Nagpur
— ANI (@ANI) March 31, 2022
He had filed an election petition against former CM and now Leader of Opposition in State Assembly, Devendra Fadnavis. pic.twitter.com/wk0yM63vTz
The ED’s Mumbai team arrived at lawyer Satish Uke’s residence in the city’s Parvati Nagar region at about 6 a.m. and began searching amid heavy security provided by the Central Reserve Police Force.
According to officials familiar with the case, the money laundering case against the brothers pertains to the acquisition of around 1.5 acres of land in Nagpur some time ago, and the papers used for the land deal were reportedly fabricated. They claimed that the land acquired was in the name of the brothers.
Around 11 AM, the lawyer and his brother were taken to the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) office in the city’s Seminary Hills area for questioning.
Who is Satish Uke?
Satish Mahadeorao Uke is the lawyer for Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole. He has filed a number of court applications against several BJP leaders, including former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Satish Uke had petitioned the court to commence criminal proceedings against Fadnavis for allegedly failing to disclose information about two criminal cases against him in his election affidavit.
In the Justice Loya case, Uke had also filed a petition. He requested a police investigation into the death of CBI judge BH Loya, who was presiding over the trial in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh alleged fake encounter case, in a plea to the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur bench. In Nagpur in 2014, the judge had died of a heart attack.
The petition by Uke was used by the Congress ecosystem to target the Modi government, even though his family members had asserted that they had no concerns regarding the circumstances of his death.
Uke was also found guilty of severe disobedience to the court. Advocate Satish Uke was found guilty of criminal contempt by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court and ordered to forfeit Rs.1 lakh of the Rs. 2 lakh he had paid as security, as well as expenses for video recording of proceedings.
The court found that Uke had instituted “frivolous and vexatious” proceedings against the judges and officers of the court, committing “abuse of process” and “contempt of court” in the process. Following the court’s order, Uke mysteriously disappeared. He had also attempted to hinder the administration of justice, the court noted in its order.
