The Supreme Court will later this week take up the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) plea challenging the anticipatory bail granted to senior West Bengal-cadre IPS officer Rajeev Kumar in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam case.
A bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran on Monday posted the matter for hearing on October 17 (Friday) after taking note of strong submissions from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the CBI. Mehta urged the court to hear the agency’s plea along with other pending petitions, including a contempt plea, for a comprehensive consideration of the case.
The bench agreed and scheduled the hearing for Friday.
During the brief hearing, Chief Justice Gavai questioned the CBI on the delay in pursuing the matter against Kumar, noting that he was granted anticipatory bail nearly six years ago.
“Why should we keep this matter pending? You have done nothing during all these years,” the CJI remarked.
Kumar’s counsel pointed out that the officer, who received anticipatory bail on October 1, 2019, has not been summoned for questioning by the agency even once since then.
Solicitor General Mehta told the court that during the initial phase of the investigation, the residence of a senior CBI officer in Kolkata was surrounded by “goons,” forcing him to cry for help to ensure his family’s safety. He also sought that the remaining connected pleas be taken up together after the Diwali vacation for better judicial economy.
Rajeev Kumar, a 1989-batch IPS officer, headed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the West Bengal government to probe the Saradha chit fund scam before the Supreme Court transferred the investigation to the CBI in 2014. The scam, which came to light in 2013 during Kumar’s tenure as Bidhannagar police commissioner, allegedly involved the Saradha Group duping lakhs of investors to the tune of ₹2,500 crore by promising high returns.
In January 2019, the probe sparked a dramatic confrontation between the Centre and the West Bengal government when a CBI team arrived at Kumar’s residence for questioning. The local police detained CBI officers, leading to a standoff. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee staged a sit-in protest in Kumar’s support.
Later that year, on November 29, 2019, the Supreme Court issued notice to Kumar on the CBI’s appeal against the Calcutta High Court’s decision to grant him anticipatory bail. The top court said the agency must convince it why Kumar’s custody was required.
The Calcutta High Court, while granting anticipatory bail, observed that it was not a fit case for custodial interrogation. It directed that if Kumar were arrested, he should be released immediately on bail with two sureties of ₹50,000 each. The court also asked him to cooperate with the investigation and make himself available for questioning with 48 hours’ prior notice.
Kumar went on to become the Director General of Police (DGP) of West Bengal and is currently serving as Additional Director General of the state’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
The Supreme Court will now take up the CBI’s plea on October 17, along with other connected petitions, to decide the future course in this long-running legal battle stemming from one of West Bengal’s biggest financial scams.
