HC grants bail to Sunil Kedar Release from jail likely today
   Date :10-Jan-2024

Sunil Kedar Release  
 
 
 
 
Staff Reporter
 
In a major relief to former minister and Congress MLA Sunil Kedar, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court suspended the order of the lower court in Rs 150-crore co-operative bank scam and granted him bail. The senior leader was accused of diverting bank funds to private entities for the purchase of government securities, leading to substantial financial losses for the bank. Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke, presiding over the hearing, granted bail on a surety bond of Rs one lakh, with the condition of making a monthly appearance before the trial court on the 1st of each month. “The execution of the substantive jail sentence imposed by the trial court shall stand suspended, till disposal of the application,” she stated in the order, adding that the applicant shall not leave the jurisdiction of the appellate court i.e. District and Sessions Court, Nagpur without prior permission of the said Court. The applicant shall not apply for exemption, unless there are exceptional circumstances, she said. Post bail order, supporters gathered outside the High Court and chanted Sunil Kedar agae badho hum tumhare saath hai."
 
Sunil Kedar is expected to be released from Nagpur Central Jail on Wednesday at around 11 am. The Congress party has urged all its supporters to gather near the Central Jail to welcome Kedar. This High Court’s decision came after Kedar, through his counsel, approached the High Court seeking relief following the rejection of his stay on conviction and bail plea by a sessions court just last week. Earlier, MLA Kedar approached the sessions court after his conviction in the bank scam for a stay on his conviction by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate court and seeking bail. District Judge RS Patil, after considering the arguments presented, had refused to stay on conviction and bail plea on December 30, last year. Earlier, on December 23, last year JMFC court had sentenced MLA Kedar and five others, including the general manager and directors of the Nagpur District Central Cooperative Bank (NDCCB), as well as the director of 'Home Trade Pvt Ltd,' to five years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10 lakh each.
 
They were found guilty of misappropriating funds of the NDCCB. Notably, six persons were convicted, while three others were acquitted in this complex legal battle that lasted for almost 20 years. Kedar, as the then Chairman, and the general manager, Ashok Choudhary, were obliged to invest the funds as per the prescribed laws, but they breached this norm. Such criminal breach of trust was deemed a serious offense, capable of severely impacting the financial stability of the cooperative bank and affecting thousands of members and staff associated with it. Senior Advocate Sunil Manohar represented Sunil Kedar while Advocates Raja Thakre and Ajay Misar argued the case on behalf of the State before the High Court.