Kolkata: A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Wednesday, extended the interim bail of Sujay Krishna Bhadra, the prime accused in the multi-crore cash for school job case in West Bengal, till August 31.
However, the single-judge bench of Justice Suvra Ghosh rejected the plea from Bhadra’s counsel for lifting the restrictions on his client’s movement confinement within his residence at Behala. Instead, Bhadra’s counsel pleaded for the extension of his movements within the entire area under the jurisdiction of the trial court in the matter.
Bhadra’s counsel also informed the court that during his interim bail period of five months, Bhadra had not been questioned even once by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the school job case.
Opposing the plea by Bhadra’s counsel to permit his client to come out of the residence at Behala at times, the CBI counsel Dhiraj Trivedi argued that since the interim bail was granted considering his medical condition, the question of allowing him to come out of his Behala residence did not arise at all.
Justice Ghosh, while rejecting that plea from Bhadra’s counsel, observed that while he might wish to enjoy some fresh air, he should also remember that he is not behind bars currently.
The judge also rejected the plea from Bhadra for permission to invite and interact with his relatives within his Behala residence at times. “Anyone can be your relative. So for the time being, only the plea for extension of the interim bail people is granted,” Justice Ghosh observed.
Notably, one of the main conditions imposed on Bhadra was that he would not be able to interact with anyone, except those associated with his treatment process, during the interim bail period.
Recently, Bhadra also made a plea to the Calcutta High Court to conduct a function at his residence to observe the first death anniversary of his wife and invite his friends and relatives to the function. However, that plea was also rejected by the Calcutta High Court.
This is the third time that the interim bail period of Bhadra has been extended. In February this year, the Calcutta High Court, for the first time, granted interim bail to Bhadra till March 31 on medical grounds.
Thereafter, on March 24, the Calcutta High Court extended his interim bail till April 22. In April, Bhadra’s interim bail period was again extended till July.
Now, for the third time, on Wednesday, his interim bail has been extended till August 31.
(IANS)
