Supreme Court Grants Bail To TMC Spokesperson Saket Gokhale In Case For Alleged Misappropriation Of Funds

The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale in alleged misappropriation of funds case.

A bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice Vikram Nath granted bail considering the nature of allegation; the fact that the chargesheet has already been filed; and that he has been in custody for nearly 109 days. Gokhale had approached the Supreme Court challenging the order of the Gujarat High Court which denied him bail in case related to alleged misappropriation of funds collected through crowdfunding. 

The allegations against him are that he collected over Rs 72 lakh from more than 1,700 persons through a crowdfunding platform ‘our democracy’ and used that money for personal use and thus, misappropriated the funds.

While denying Gokhale bail, the High Court bench of Justice Samir J. Dave observed that there is a prima facie case that the amounts collected in the name of welfare were used by the accused for his personal benefit. On Monday, opposing Gokhale’s prayer for grant of bail, the Additional Solicitor General, SV Raju reiterated that the fund was raised for his personal expenses like booking tickets for travelling, buying liquor for fun.

Gokhale was first arrested by the Gujarat police in a case for allegedly spreading fake news regarding the cost incurred on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Morbi town following a bridge collapse tragedy. On December 30, 2022, he was arrested by the Gujarat police in the case for alleged misappropriation of funds.

In January this year, he was also arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the money laundering case over alleged misappropriation of funds.

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