Trial May Take A Long Time To Get Concluded: Delhi HC Grants Bail To Sukanya Mondal In Cattle Smuggling Case

The Delhi High Court has granted bail to Sukanya Mondal, daughter of Anubrata Mondal (TMC leader) in cattle smuggling case.

The Court was deciding a bail application filed by the accused seeking bail under Section 439 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) read Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).

A Single Bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna said, “In the present case, the Applicant is in judicial custody from 26.04.2023. As has been observed in the context of this case itself while deciding bail of Anubrata Mondal (Supra) the documents involved are voluminous and the trial may take a long time to get concluded. Furthermore, the Applicant is a woman who is entitled to bail under Proviso to Section 45 of PMLA, 2002, in the circumstances as narrated above.”

Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa represented the petitioner/accused while Advocate (Special Counsel) Anupam S. Sharma represented the respondent/Directorate of Enforcement (ED).

In this case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a preliminary enquiry that revealed that cattle smuggling was happening from India to Bangladesh by paying illegal gratification to BSF (Border Security Force) personnel deputed on the border during December 2015 to April 2017. The CBI alleged that Md. Enamul Haque used to pay Rs. 2000/- per Cattle to BSF officials and Rs. 500/- to Customs Officials aside from the 10% of the auction price from successful bidders like Enamul Haque. The ED based on the investigation, filed a complaint case before the Special Judge in which the name of the accused was also included.

Thereafter, the accused was arrested and she preferred a bail application before the Trial Court but the same was dismissed. The allegations against the accused were that she, with the help of her father who received bribes on behalf of main accused-Satish Kumar from this alleged ‘Cattle Smuggling’ business, had laundered the money to the tune of Rs. 12 Crores approximately, through her various Companies and Firms. Hence, she was before the High Court seeking bail on the ground of her medical condition as she was suffering from Gynaecological and Thyroid problems.

The High Court in view of the facts and circumstances of the case observed, “Sh. Anubrata Mondal, the father of the Applicant, has been admitted to bail by the Apex Court vide SLP(Crl.) No.12769/2023 decided on 30.07.2024, essentially on the grounds of his incarceration in jail from 11.08.2022 and that the case was still at the stage of Section 207 of Cr.P.C., 1973. Looking at the number of pages in the Chargesheet which were voluminous, and some were in Bengali which were required to be translated, Sh. Anubrata Mondal was admitted to bail.”

The Court further noted that the accused may be an educated woman having her business and commercial enterprise, but it cannot be overlooked that the allegations against her are essentially in the context of her father and that she in her commercial ventures, has laundered the money received by her father as a bribe.

Accordingly, the High Court granted bail to the accused upon furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 10 lakhs and one surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the Trial Court.

Cause Title- Sukanya Mondal v. Directorate of Enforcement (Neutral Citation: 2024:DHC:6967)

Appearance:

Petitioner: Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa, Advocates Shadman Ahmed Siddiqui, Garvil Singh, and Nikita Jain.

Respondent: Advocates Anupam S. Sharma, Harprreet Kalsi, Prakarsh Airan, Abhishek Batra, Ripudaman Sharma, Vashisht Raoo, and Syamantak Modgil.

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