Sudipta Sen, Key Accused in Saradha Ponzi Scheme, Granted Bail After 13 Years

Sudipta Sen, the central figure in the massive Saradha ponzi scheme, has been granted conditional bail by the Calcutta High Court, potentially ending his 13-year imprisonment and raising questions about the future of the case.

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday granted conditional bail to multi-crore Saradha ponzi scam accused Sudipta Sen in the last two of the 300-odd criminal cases against him, paving the way for his release from jail after 13 years. A division bench of the high court granted bail to Sen in two cases pertaining to the Barasat police station in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.

Sen has already been granted bail in all the other cases registered against him, including four criminal cases by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The court directed that Sen be released upon furnishing a bond of Rs 5,000 with two sureties of like amount each, one of whom must be local.

The Saradha group, headed by Sen, allegedly defrauded lakhs of people through a number of ponzi schemes. He was arrested in April 2013 in Jammu and Kashmir after financial misappropriations to the tune of hundreds of crores of Rupees were unravelled.

The division bench, comprising justices Rajarshi Bharadwaj and Uday Kumar, directed that in view of the magnitude of the financial scam and the necessity to safeguard public interest, Sen must surrender his passport to the trial court if not already in the custody of any other agency.

Prohibiting Sen from leaving the territorial limits of West Bengal without the prior written permission of the high court, the division bench directed the financial scam accused to provide his residential address to the officer in charge of Barasat police station and not to change his place of stay without prior intimation to both the police and the trial court.

Bail Conditions for Sudipta Sen

"The petitioner is strictly restrained from promoting, managing, or acting as an agent or consultant for any financial entity," the court directed.

Sen was further directed not to contact, influence or intimidate any person acquainted with the facts of the cases, specifically the complainants and prosecution witnesses. He was also directed to attend every date of trial, either via virtual mode or physical appearance.

Along with Sen, his close associate Debjani Mukherjee was also arrested from Sonmarg in Jammu and Kashmir 13 years ago. She has already been granted bail in the cases registered against her.