HC grants bail to ED officer
Justice Gourishankar Satapathy allowed Raghuvanshi to go on bail on furnishing a bond of Rs 1 lakh with two solvent sureties of like amount, subject to conditions, including surrender of his passport and restrictions on travel without prior court permission.
Senior advocate Ashok Parija and senior advocate Saura Chandra Mohapatra, along with advocate Lalitendu Mishra, represented the officer.
The court, in its order on July 23, noted that Raghuvanshi has been in custody for over 50 days while the investigation is still ongoing and the trial has not yet begun.
"Bail is the rule, jail the exception," Justice Satapathy observed, underlining that an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The court also pointed out that the CBI has not sought custodial interrogation of Raghuvanshi at any stage and that he had cooperated with the investigation, including providing passwords to his mobile devices. It was also noted that the accused had not misused the liberty granted during interim bail.
The CBI has alleged that Raghuvanshi received illegal gratification through co-accused Bhakti Binod Behera. The tainted money was allegedly recovered from a vehicle linked to Behera. The primary evidence against Raghuvanshi includes phone conversations with the complainant and co-accused.
The court held that fears of Raghuvanshi being a flight risk could be addressed through appropriate bail conditions and said economic offences do not automatically warrant denial of bail.
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