Bail for accused in Rs 4 crore Raipur crypto scam

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to an accused in a Rs 4 crore crypto currency scam in Raipur, in which around 2,000 investors lost their monies, and asked the accused, Subhelal, to deposit Rs 35 lakh as security deposit within six months.
"We are conscious of the fact that we have been condemning the High Courts when they impose such conditions. But here is a case wherein we are compelled to impose such conditions having regard to the peculiar facts of this case," said a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan in its judgment.
"We make it clear that within the time period of six months, if the amount is not deposited by the appellant, this bail shall stand automatically cancelled," the bench said, while noting that the accused has been in jail since Dec 2023 and that the prosecution proposed to examine 189 witnesses of which examination of the first one is going on.
The bench examined the factual situations in which a court can grant bail to an accused. It said if the role of the accused cannot be attributed to delay in trial, if there is no apprehension of him tampering with evidence or chances of him absconding, then the trial court can grant him bail.

In case after case relating to grant of bail, the SC had been deprecating practice in the HCs to seek monetary security deposit from the accused if he was to enjoy the relief. In one such appeal case, it had said, "Inclusion of a condition for payment of money by the applicant for bail tends to create an impression that bail could be secured by depositing money alleged to have been cheated. That is really not the purpose and intent of the provisions for grant of bail."
Justices Pardiwala and Mahadevan said since it is an economic offence, it is not undermining the seriousness of the alleged crime and since the role of the accused is estimated to the tune of defrauding Rs 35 lakh, it was asking him to deposit that much money while granting him bail.