Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has granted bail to deputy director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Chintan Raghuvanshi, who was arrested on May 30 on bribery charges.
Justice Gourishankar Satapathy allowed the 2013-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer to go bail on furnishing a bond of Rs 1 lakh with two solvent sureties of the same amount to the satisfaction of the trial court. He has been asked to surrender his passport and restricted from leaving the country without prior permission.
The court observed that Raghuvanshi has been in custody for over 50 days for an offence, which although serious, carries a maximum punishment of seven years, with no immediate prospect of trial. “Bail is the rule, jail the exception,” Justice Satapathy noted, underlining that an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The court also pointed out that the CBI has not sought custodial interrogation of Raghuvanshi and he had cooperated with the investigation, providing his mobile phone password and complying with interim bail conditions. Fears of Raghuvanshi being a flight risk could be addressed through appropriate bail conditions, it further stated, adding that economic offences do not automatically warrant denial of bail.
On May 30, Bhakti Binod Behera was allegedly caught red-handed during a trap operation while accepting a Rs 20 lakh bribe from a mining businessman, Ratikanta Rout, in Bhubaneswar on behalf of the senior ED official.
According to CBI’s FIR, Rout has a stone quarry and crusher business in Dhenkanal. He had lodged a complaint alleging Raghuvanshi had first demanded a bribe of Rs 5 crore for not arresting him in connection with a case related to financial irregularities. He, however, reportedly reduced the amount to Rs 2 crore later while assuring Rout to settle the case. The primary evidence against Raghuvanshi includes phone conversations with the complainant and co-accused in which vehicle the tainted money was found.
Behera has also been granted bail with identical conditions.