The Calcutta High Court today granted bail to former union minister Matang Sinh, who was arrested by the CBI for his alleged connection with the Saradha chit fund scam, on bail bonds of Rs 1.01 crore.
A division bench comprising Justice Joymalyo Bagchi and Justice R Bharadwaj granted bail to Sinh on five bonds of Rs 20 lakh each and a relative to provide another Rs 1 lakh as bond.
The bench directed him not to leave West Bengal without permission from the trial court.
The court also asked Sinh to appear before the CBI investigating officer once a week and to be present for hearings on all dates before the trial court.
Opposing Sinh's bail prayer, the CBI counsel Ashraf Ali submitted that he was arrested on January 31, 2015 and the Supreme Court had rejected his bail prayers twice and the high court has refused bail to him thrice.
He submitted that the investigation was on and the agency would submit a final charge sheet with regard to the case and releasing Sinh at this stage would hamper the probe.
Praying for bail, Sinh's counsel Manjeet Singh submitted that the agency has submitted six charge sheets so far in connection with the Saradha scam and his name appeared only in the second one.
He claimed that Sinh was being unnecessarily detained by the investigating agency.
After hearing both the parties, the high court granted bail to Sinh, also a former Rajya Sabha member from Assam.
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