Sujay Krishna Bhadra Vs Enforcement Directorate Kolkata Zonal Office-II (Calcutta High Court)
Calcutta High Court allowed the bail application on the fact that petitioner has been in prolonged incarceration before being pronounced guilty of an offence. Court also relied on the principle that bail is rule and jail is exception.
Facts- Initially the petitioner sought bail on the limited ground of his medical condition. The Hon’ble High Court directed Central Bureau of Investigation to register FIR and investigate the alleged illegalities in the selection process for assistant teachers in primary schools. The petitioner was not named either in the FIR, or in the charge sheet and supplementary charge sheet submitted by the CBI in the said matter, despite investigation being continued for more than two years. Therefore the petitioner had no role in respect of the predicate offence. On the basis of the predicate offence, the Enforcement Directorate registered ECIR no. KLZO/19/2022 dated 24th June, 2022 under The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The petitioner was not named in the prosecution complaint filed by the E.D. on 19th September, 2022 or the three supplementary complaints filed on 7th December 2022, 21st March 2023 and 8th May 2023 respectively. He was arraigned as an accused in the fourth supplementary prosecution complaint filed on 28th July, 2023.
