The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday granted bail to former Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh, the prime accused in this case. The bail order would remain valid till 11 November this year.
Ghosh was arrested on 23 November, 2013 by the Bengal police, which was then investigating the case.
He was subsequently shown arrested by the CBI on 6 September, 2014 after it took over investigations from the state police.
The Central Bureau of Investigation is having a tough time in court in Bengal in connection with the Saradha Ponzi scam that is being investigated by the agency under directions of the Supreme Court.
Despite vehement opposition from the CBI, a division bench of the court felt that Ghosh has already remained in custody for a sufficiently long period for the agency to conduct investigations on his involvement in the multi-crore fraud.
The scam which duped lakhs of investors and agents across Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa and Assam. More so, because the agency has already filed charge-sheets against Ghosh in all the cases he has been implicated in, the court observed.
Besides the legal aspects, the court also took into consideration the fact that Ghosh's mother is terminally ill and requires her son’s presence at this critical stage.
Ghosh would have to furnish a bail bond of two lakh rupees and provide two local sureties.
The court has also restrained Ghosh's movements within the police station jurisdiction of his north Kolkata residence and has directed him to meet the investigating officers of the CBI at least once a week.
The court has, however, also granted the agency's prayer for time to make further submissions in this case. The matter would be heard by the bench on 2 November when the court reopens after the Puja vacations.
The judicial magistrate of the special CBI court, where Ghosh’s trial is currently pending, is not empowered to award punishment of rigorous imprisonment exceeding three years, in the event of Ghosh being found guilty of the charges he has been slapped with.
The court was convinced with the argument that the accused has completed custodial confinement of three years from the date of his arrest by the state police and a confinement of more than two years from the date of his arrest by the CBI.
"The CBI has argued that it needs to examine some 20 other witnesses in this case over and above the 42 witnesses it has already examined. The court wasn't convinced that my client needs to stay behind bars till that process is complete,” said Ayan Chakraborty, Counsel for Kunal Ghosh.
A journalist-turned-politician Kunal Ghosh headed the media wing of the now-defunct Saradha Group which also owned several TV channels and newspapers besides its fraudulent Ponzi business.
Ghosh was accused of misleading Saradha group chairman Sudipta Sen to invest in media business besides using his political clout to arm twist investors to pour money in the fraud.
Following his arrest, Ghosh has repeatedly spoken out against his one-time leader Mamata Banerjee during the course of his court proceedings in the past few years alleging her to be the biggest beneficiary of the scam.
He has held hunger strikes in jail protesting discriminatory practices against him by prison authorities compared to some of the other accused in this case. He even attempted suicide in jail in November, 2014.
Last month another Trinamool Congress leader and former minister in Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet, Madan Mitra, was granted bail by a court in Kolkata.
The CBI has challenged that order before Calcutta High Court and would be heard on 3 November.
Besides Mitra, influential individuals in the city like Srinjoy Bose, a former Rajya Sabha member from the TMC and a top Mohun Bagan club official, and Debabrata Sarkar, a senior official of the East Bengal club, are also out on bail.
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