SC reserves order in Partha bail plea: ‘Don’t claim parity… on the face of it, you’re corrupt’

The remarks came as Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Chatterjee, cited the bail given to Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji in the money laundering case against him.

Stressing that the charges were serious, Justice Kant also told Rohatgi that “on the face of it, you are a corrupt person. What message do you want us to send to society? That corrupt person can get bail like this?”

The senior counsel argued that Chatterjee had already spent two and half years in custody, but Justice Kant asked, “So what? Crores of rupees were recovered from your premises.”

The court added that time may be required to complete the investigation.

The Bench comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, however, told Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, who appeared for the ED, that Chatterjee cannot be kept in custody for an indefinite period.

When Raju said that Chatterjee would not be able to walk out of jail even if he is granted bail as he is also in custody in the CBI case registered in connection with the scam, Justice Bhuyan told him: “If he (Chatterjee) is entitled to bail, he is entitled. Don’t say he won’t come out of jail. You don’t know what the trial court will do. Our court has held that deprivation of liberty for one day is a day too many.”