The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to Suman Chattopadhyay, Bengali journalist. He was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in December 2018 for his alleged involvement in a ponzi scam.
“We think this (is) one good reason for releasing the petitioner on bail. The petitioner be released on bail to the satisfaction of the trial Court immediately”, the bench comprising justices Navin Sinha and Indira Banerjee ruled.
“After being in incarceration for over a year and a half, justice has finally been meted out to Chattopadhyay. The Supreme Court has long been a guardian of personal liberties of citizens, and today’s order is a reflection of that. This may be an important step in his otherwise longer drawn battle”, Chattopadhyay’s lawyer, Sahil Tagotra told HT.
A bench headed by justice Rohinton Nariman noted that Chattopadhyay is admitted to the Apollo Hospital in Bhubaneswar. He is admitted for serious heart trouble and lung infection. Therefore he is more prone to Coronavirus infection than other prisoners.
Suman was at editor of Ananda Bazaar Patrika and Ei Shomoy, a Bengali daily newspaper. But then he started his own newspaper, Ek Din, and raised money from I-Core services which had come up using chit funds.
I-Core group came under scanner after one Ajay Kumar Sahoo filed a complaint with the Bhubaneswar police. He complaini that after maturity of his deposit with I-Core, the amount was not returned to him. Suman and two promoters of I-Core were later arrested by CBI in the matter.
“Only three accused were arrested in the present case of which two main accused have already been granted bail by the high court. There has not been a single allegation against the petitioner that he may have attempted to influence the course of investigation, tamper with evidence or intimidate any witness”, the petition stated.