SC grants bail to Trinamool leader Anubrata Mondal in cattle smuggling case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mondal in connection with the corruption case linked to the alleged multi-crore cattle smuggling scam in West Bengal.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing on Mondal’s behalf, urged a bench, headed over by Justice Bela M. Trivedi, to release Mondal – a close aide of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee – on bail, adding that he is yet to receive the English translation of probe report and other documents relating to the alleged scam.

Rohtagi submitted that other co-accused, including Mohd Enamul Haque, the alleged kingpin of the racket, had already been granted bail.

Opposing the bail, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, representing the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), stated that Mondal is an influential person and has intimated other witnesses related to the case.

Taking note of the submission that the trial is unlikely to take place soon, the bench, also comprising Justice S.C. Sharma, ordered the conditional release of Mondal on bail and asked him to surrender his passport and cooperate with the trial proceedings.

However, the Trinamool leader will remain in jail as he was also arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the money laundering case linked to the same scam.

In December last year, the top court had asked the CBI to provide a copy of the charge sheet along with other documents to Mondal.

Mondal was arrested in August 2023 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sleuths. His daughter Sukanya Mondal, his chartered accountant Manish Kothari, and his bodyguard Sehgal Hossain, all of whom are accused as co-conspirators and beneficiaries in the multi-crore cattle smuggling case, were also arrested. In September 2020, the CBI lodged an FIR against Enamul Haque, BSF Commandant Satish Kumar and others regarding the smuggling of cattle across the India-Bangladesh border.