KOLKATA, Feb 16 - The Calcutta High Court today granted bail to Assamese singer and filmmaker Sadananda Gogoi, who has been in jail for nearly 30 months after being arrested by the CBI in connection with the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam.
A division bench of acting Chief Justice Nishita Mhatre and Justice T Mookherjee granted bail to Gogoi on two bail bonds of Rs 12.5 lakh each.
The bench also directed Gogoi not to leave the jurisdiction of the Kolkata police commissionerate and to meet the investigating officer once a month.
Seeking bail for the petitioner, counsel Milan Mukherjee submitted that Gogoi had earlier moved a bail prayer before the High Court after having spent 308 days in custody, which had been denied.
Since then, he had spent another 581 days in custody, but during this period he was questioned by the CBI only once, Mukherjee submitted.
Arguing that Gogoi had spent 889 days in custody so far, the counsel prayed that he be released on bail.
The CBI counsel opposed the bail prayer claiming that the investigation would be hampered if Gogoi was released on bail because the tentacles of the Saradha scam were spread over several states in the east and Northeast India, including Assam, of which he is a resident.
After hearing both the parties, the court granted bail to Gogoi. � PTI