The Supreme Court on Monday (April 17) granted bail to Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson Saket Gokhale in the case where he is accused of misusing money he had collected through crowdfunding. The Supreme Court was hearing a plea filed by the TMC leader against a Gujarat High Court order refusing him bail in the matter.
The allegations against him are that he collected over Rs 72 lakh from more than 1,700 persons through a crowdfunding platform ‘our democracy’ and used that money for personal use and thus, misappropriated the funds.
The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale in alleged misappropriation of funds case.
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) April 17, 2023
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Additional solicitor general (ASG) SV Raju representing the state, opposed bail claiming that the allegations were serious. Senior advocate Siddharth Agarwal appearing for the TMC leader apprised the court that Gokhale had been in jail for the last 109 days.
After hearing the arguments presented by both sides, the Supreme Court bench of justices BR Gavai and Vikram Nath said, “Taking into consideration that the charge sheet has already been filed, the applicant is directed to be released on bail.”
Gujarat HC dismisses Gokhale’s bail plea in the crowdfunding case
Notably, in January this year, the Gujarat High Court dismissed the bail application filed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson Saket Gokhale observing that prima facie it appears that Gokhale had utilised the funds raised through crowdfunding for his personal expenses.
Noting that the case is of the nature of fraud and cheating and that the investigation is still going on and that the necessary evidence is to be recovered, the court denied bail to the TMC leader.
On December 29, Gokhale was arrested in Delhi by the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch. Gokhale is accused of misappropriating Rs 1.07 crore collected from the public through crowd-funding. Saket Gokhale was charged under sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), and 467 (forgery) of the Indian Penal Code.
ED arrests TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale and his repeated arrests
TMC leader Saket Gokhale was arrested by the Gujarat Police in December last year for siphoning off money in the name of activism. The police had found accounts linked to Gokhale where he was receiving money, which he claimed was being used for legal fees for activism-related cases but were instead being used for personal expenses. Before that, he was arrested by Gujarat police for spreading fake news about PM Modi.
On January 25, the Enforcement Directorate arrested Gokhale under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in Ahmedabad.
