GUWAHATI, July 20 - The State government has taken a strong exception to the investigating agency �not opposing� the bail petition of Bonty Gogoi, the prime accused in the high-profile Excise department scam in the Gauhati High Court even as multiple theories have emerged.
Speculations are also doing the rounds that this might well open the floodgates of bails for other co-accused in the scam. The Court of Justice Hitesh Kumar Sarma, on Wednesday, allowed Bonty Gogoi to go on bail.
The Court in its order said, �Considering the period of detention and the fact that there is no prayer from investigating agency that her release on bail will adversely affect further investigation, if any, in the instant case, the prayer for bail is granted�.
Meanwhile, well-placed sources in the Judicial department confide that they are contemplating to challenge the order before the Supreme Court.
Apprehensions are being expressed that the approach of the investigating agency, which in this case is the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), is likely to brighten the opportunities of other arrested accused to go on bail as well.
�As far as the investigating agency is concerned, we had filed the chargesheet against the accused and every forwarding letter placed before the Court does mention that the accused be sent to judicial custody,� sources added.
�There is much more to it than meets the eye. The public prosecutor, too, was away on that date and we do not know why the public prosecutor in charge was silent on the issue,� sources rued. Sources in the investigating agency opined that there were too much of �coincidences� to digest.
Moreover, opinions of legal experts are also divided on a Gauhati High Court notification dated May 2, 2009, wherein it is stated that the �...Chief Justice has been pleased to order that henceforth any Bail application(s) filed in a particular case after rejection of the earlier application(s) in the same matter shall be listed as far as practicable before the same Judge, if available, who rejected the earlier bail applications.�
The bail application of Bonty Gogoi was earlier rejected by Justice Ajit Barthakur on May 19 while the similar bail petition was disposed of by Justice Hitesh Kumar Sarma on June 22.
