In a significant development in the decade-long investigation into the multi-crore Saradha ponzi scam, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday, April 8, granted bail to the group’s founder, Sudipta Sen. This ruling covers the final two pending criminal cases against him, potentially clearing the path for his release from custody after 13 years of incarceration.
A division bench of the Calcutta High Court presided over the matter, granting bail in relation to two cases registered at the Barasat police station in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district. Prior to this, Sen had already secured bail in all other cases filed against him across various jurisdictions, including four major criminal cases investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Sudipta Sen was the chairman and managing director of the Saradha Group, a consortium that operated various investment schemes which collapsed in 2013. The subsequent investigation unraveled financial misappropriations estimated to be in the hundreds of crores, affecting thousands of small investors across Eastern India.
Sen’s period of custody began in April 2013, following his arrest in Jammu and Kashmir. Over the last 13 years, he has faced approximately 300 criminal cases related to the ponzi scheme, including charges of cheating and criminal conspiracy.
While granting the bail, the High Court stipulated specific conditions for Sen’s release. The court directed that he be released upon furnishing a bond of ₹5,000 with two sureties of an equal amount. The bench further mandated that at least one of these sureties must be a local resident.
As the legal proceedings in the remaining 300-odd cases have reached a stage where bail has been secured in every instance, this latest order marks the first time since his 2013 arrest that Sen has no legal bars remaining for his physical release from jail.
