The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to suspended Trinamool Congress leader Kuntal Ghosh, who was arrested last year by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the cash-for-jobs scam case.
The Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan observed that given the nature of the allegations and the nature of evidence to be collected, the investigation in the case might take some time.
Although a charge sheet was filed in January 2024, the Special Court did not take cognisance as no documents were appended to it. Besides, the CBI was proposing to file supplementary charge sheets.
Noting that it was too early to foresee the conclusion of the trial in near future, the Apex Court said the detention of the petitioner in custody for an indefinite period would not be in conformity with well-settled principles of criminal jurisprudence.
The Bench granted bail to the petitioner subject to the terms and conditions imposed by the trial court. It further clarified that the conditions for bail imposed by the High Court in the connected case registered by the Enforcement Directorate would apply in this case as well.
Ghosh was asked to deposit his passport with the investigating agency and not to leave the State of West Bengal without the prior permission of the trial court/investigating agency. He was further directed to share his mobile number with the investigating agency and the trial court.
The counsel representing CBI requested the Bench to impose a condition that Ghosh should not hold any political office during the pendency of the proceedings.
Noting that it could not pass such a direction, the Court, however, barred Ghosh from holding any public office while the case remained pending.
The counsel representing Ghosh submitted that the petitioner has been granted bail in the connected PMLA matter by the Calcutta High Court. He further contended that the petitioner has been under custody for over 19 months, since his arrest on February 20, 2023, adding that the three co-accused have already been released bail.
Appearing for the CBI, the Additional Solicitor General opposed the petition on the grounds that Ghosh was part of a widespread scam. He had created a fake website resembling the original website of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education. The accused had allegedly collected around Rs four crore as bribe from undeserving candidates to recruit them.
Ghosh was an influential person belonging to the party ruling the State of West Bengal. His release would result in the intimidation of the witnesses. The investigation was not yet over as the CBI was proposing to file supplementary charge sheets, added the ASG.
The Apex Court noted that on the last hearing, CBI had proposed to examine 183 witnesses. The investigation was yet to complete and the process was taking time, added the Bench.
CBI had arrested Ghosh on February 20, 2023 on charges of cheating and forgery. He was booked under relevant Sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.
The Trinamool Congress suspended Ghosh in March 2023 after his arrest.