Saradha scam accused Manoranjana Sinh granted bail by SC

The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Manoranjana Sinh, an accused in multi-crore Saradha chit find scam and in jail since October 7, 2015.

While granting bail to Manoranjana Sinh, the estranged wife of former Union Minister Matang Sinh who is also an accused in the case, the bench of Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Amitava Roy saddled her with several stringent conditions including that she would surrender her passport.

She would also not leave Kolkata without the permission of the trial court and informing the investigating agency CBI and not try to tamper with the evidence or influence the witnesses.

Granting bail to Manoranjana Sinh, the court said that she would furnish a surety of Rs 1 crore and two sureties of like amount each. She would be released on the satisfaction of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Alipore.

The court, in its order, said that any breach of its conditions would be viewed seriously and would have serious consequences. Her medical condition also weighed as a factor for the grant of bail.

The court also noted that she was in continuously in judicial custody since October 7, 2015 and the supplementary chargesheet against her along with others was filed on January 4, 2016 incorporating the evidence collected against those incriminated.

"Having regard to the magnitude and canvass of the investigation, it is likely that the exercise would take further time," the court said making it clear that the grant of bail was based on the facts of the case and could not be treated as a precedent.

--IANS

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