Saradha Scam : SC Seeks Centre's Reply On Media Tycoon Ramesh Gandhi's Bail Plea

The Supreme Court on Friday in a bail plea of Media Tycoon Ramesh Gandhi directed the Union to file its reply within two weeks.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul & B.R. Gavai heard the petition for regular bail of Ramesh Gandhi, who has been in custody for 4 years and 8 months basis charges levied against him for his alleged complicity in the Saradha scam.

Senior Advocate Vikas Singh appeared for Ramesh Gandhi & submitted that the CBI's stand of his client's involvement in the scam as "kingpin" was wrong and misconcieved. Singh further added that his client had been in custody for a long time, yet a trial had ensued against him. Therefore, he was eligible for grant of bail, argued Singh.

Senior Advocate Natrajan appearing for the Union of India on the other hand rebutted Singh's argument(s). 

"He is the recipient of many transactions. He is the main Kingpin in the entire scam" stated Natrajan.

At this juncture, the bench inquired about the charges that had been levelled against the media tycoon.

The Union of India sought time to file a reply in this regard which was allowed by the bench and the matter was listed for May 4, 2020.

The present petition comes as an "of-shoot" of the Saradha Scam for which Ramesh Gandhi was arrested for his alleged involvement by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

According to the agency, Gandhi was closely associated with the Saradha boss and scam kingpin "Sudipta Sen" and huge funds were allegedly transferred to his own and his company bank accounts.

The scam came out in public in early 2013. It involved the Kolkata-based Saradha Group, which was alleged to have collected deposits of up to Rs 2,500 crore from the public, but defaulted when it came to payments.

Ramesh Gandhi was looking after the corporate affairs department of Saradha Group.

Advocate Yunus Malik also appeared for the Petitioner in the Supreme Court and gave Live Law inputs. The hearing was conducted via Video Conferencing. The plea was filed by Advocate-on-Record Samir Malik.