The Delhi High Court on Thursday has scheduled the bail plea of Sukanya Mondal for hearing on Monday.
Case Details
Mondal was arrested in connection with a multi-crore cattle smuggling money laundering case on April 26, 2023, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and has been in custody since. Her regular bail plea was dismissed by the trial court on June 1, 2023, prompting her to approach the High Court.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna has listed the matter for hearing on Monday at 3 p.m. Mondal’s bail plea has been pending for a significant period, and the Supreme Court recently directed that the application be decided within three weeks after the reopening of the High Court.
Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, representing Mondal, highlighted that she has been in custody since her arrest in April 2023 and that the ED has already filed a prosecution complaint (charge sheet) against her. He also informed the court about the Supreme Court’s directive.
History
Previously, before the trial court, Mondal’s counsel, Advocate Amit Kumar, argued for bail on the grounds of parity with another accused, Tanya Sanyal, who was not arrested and against whom a charge sheet was filed without arrest. Sanyal, the wife of BSF commandant Satish Kumar, is accused of receiving bribe money for cattle smuggling from Enamul Haque and laundering it. Despite being implicated in both CBI and ED cases, Sanyal was granted regular bail, which the ED did not oppose.
The ED, through a Special Public Prosecutor (SPP), presented incriminating material against Mondal and argued against her release on bail, citing national security and economic concerns. The SPP also noted that Mondal’s father, Anubrata Mondal, a TMC leader currently in custody, relied on her to manage his business activities. Allegations suggest that Mondal, a teacher in the West Bengal government, was actively involved in these business activities, with proceeds of the crime deposited in her multiple bank accounts and business entities worth several crores.
Anubrata Mondal, Trinamool Congress party’s president of Birbhum district and a close aide of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, was arrested by the CBI in the same case in July 2022 and later by the ED in connection with the cattle smuggling scam after questioning at Asansol jail.
The court noted that the ED’s case, based on the Scheduled Offence, is still ongoing at the CBI Court of Asansol in West Bengal, with several accused taken into judicial custody by the CBI so far.
