After 13 years in custody since his arrest in Jammu and Kashmir in 2013, Saradha chit-fund scam accused Sudipta Sen is set to be released on bail. The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday granted him bail in the last two pending cases linked to the multi-crore ponzi scheme.
The cases were related to the Barasat police station in North 24 Parganas and were being investigated by the West Bengal Police. With this, Sen has now secured bail in all cases against him, The Indian Express reported.
389 cases against Sudipta Sen
Sudipta Sen, 64, was arrested in April 2013 in Jammu and Kashmir after the Saradha financial scam came to light, involving alleged misappropriation of hundreds of crores of rupees.
A total of around 389 cases were registered in connection with the scam. Of these, 77 cases were later transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the larger conspiracy and money trail, as reported by The Indian Express.
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According to submissions in court, all 77 CBI cases have reached the final stage, with charge sheets filed. Sen had already been granted bail in those cases, as well as in other cases registered earlier.
High Court grants bail with conditions
Granting bail in the remaining two cases, a Division Bench of Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj and Justice Uday Kumar observed, "The prolonged detention, the admitted administrative failures, and the petitioner's critical medical condition necessitate judicial intervention. We are of the firm opinion that the petitioner has made out an exceptional case for bail."
The court directed Sen to furnish a bond of Rs. 5,000 with two sureties of the same amount for his release before the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Barasat.
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It also imposed several conditions. Sen has been asked to surrender his passport and not leave West Bengal without prior written permission of the High Court. He must inform the police about his residential address and cannot change his place of stay without prior approval, The New Indian Express reported.
The court noted that these conditions were necessary, considering the scale of the financial scam and to safeguard public interest.
