Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday allowed TMC leader Kunal Ghosh, who was arrested in the Saradha ponzi scam case and was later granted bail, to visit Spain as a delegate of Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) accompanying Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to seek investments for the state.
The court observed that right to go abroad is a fundamental one and ought not be restricted unless interest of justice demands such a course. Noting that Ghosh, a former Rajya Sabha MP, is on regular bail since 2017 and that there is no allegation of misuse of liberty and that he has not yet been convicted, a division bench presided by Justice Joymalya Bagchi granted him permission to visit Spain.
"We permit the petitioner to go abroad as a member of the delegation to Madrid and Barcelona in connection with BGBS, 2023 from September 12 to September 23," the bench also comprising Justice Gaurang Kanth directed. The permission was granted on condition that the petitioner's wife will furnish a bond of Rs five lakh and Ghosh also deposits a sum of like amount in cash or by way of fixed deposit maintained with any nationalised bank to the satisfaction of the trial court.
Upon furnishing the bond, Ghosh's passport will be handed over to him to enable him to go abroad, the court directed, adding that immediately upon his return, he will submit the passport before the trial court by September 25. Ghosh was arrested in November, 2013 by Bidhannagar police of West Bengal in connection with the Saradha ponzi scam case and was later taken in custody by the CBI after the central agency took over the probe. (PTI)
