New Delhi [India], September 20 : The Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi granted regular bail to TMC leader Anubrata Mondal in the money laundering case related to the West Bengal cattle smuggling scam.
Mondal was accused of involvement in illegal activities linked to the smuggling of cattle across the India-Bangladesh border.
Advocate Mustafa and Ahmad Ibrahim appeared for the accused.
The court has recently sought a response from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the bail plea of Anubrata Mondal, who is one of the accused in the cattle smuggling case.
He has been granted bail by the Supreme Court in the CBI case.
His bail plea submitted that the applicant has been in continued incarceration for almost 2 years. He was arrested on November 17, 2022, and there is no likelihood of the trial even getting started in the near future.
"The prosecuting agency has been delaying the trial by not providing the accused persons with the complete set of documents along with the chargesheet, which is making it impossible for the counsel for the accused persons to prepare and argue on the point of charge," the plea said.
The counsels also said that even if the arguments on charge are heard and the charges are framed, it will take a very long time to complete the trial as there are a total of 85 witnesses mentioned in the prosecution complaints, which will inevitably take a very long time to complete.
It was also submitted that the accused is 65 years old and has age-related ailments. Apart from the various illnesses he had, he has now developed radiculopathy and severe pain in the lower limb, making it extremely difficult for him to move without assistance.
It was further submitted that the applicant was advised MRI but the same could not be done because he was taken to a hospital where only a closed MRI facility was available and the applicant has a history of getting panic attacks and being claustrophobic.
Recently, the applicant had severe pain in his chest, because of which he was advised to get cardio angiography done. However, the same could not be done as he needs a family member to undergo such treatments, the counsels argued.
Recently, the Delhi High Court granted bail to TMC leader Anubrata Mondal's daughter, Sukanya Mondal, who was arrested by the ED for allegedly laundering the proceeds of cross-border India-Bangladesh cattle smuggling.