Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Vikrant Shetty was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in Goa, where he is accused of participating in six fraudulent sale deeds. When granting bail on a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh and other conditions, the court highlighted extended imprisonment, the lack of a charge, and the impossibility of a time-bound trial conclusion.
Since his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on suspicion of being involved in six sale deeds in which documents were signed based on falsified and counterfeit data, Shetty has been detained for ten months.
Advocate Vibhav Amonkar, speaking on Shetty’s behalf, contended during the criminal miscellaneous bail hearing that although the chargesheet against 36 defendants, including Shetty, was filed, the case was still in the preliminary stage.
“The Court has not set a deadline for arguments regarding charge framing. He also pointed to procedural delays and the fact that some accused people had not yet been apprehended, saying, “The Applicant (Shetty) has been in custody for the last ten months and his further custody is now not required.”
Shetty was cooperative during the investigation, according to the Bench of Justice Bharat Deshpande, and the chargesheet was filed without any charges being formed as of yet. The Court further noted that additional imprisonment would be punitive, particularly in circumstances when the outcome of the trial is uncertain because of pending sessions court matters.
