Mumbai Court Grants Bail To Accused In New India Co-op Bank Fraud Case

Mumbai: A metropolitan magistrate court at Esplanade has granted bail to Rajivranjan Pandey alias Pawan Gupta, who is accused of being one of the beneficiaries in the alleged New India Co-operative Bank Ltd fraud case. Pandey approached the magistrate court after the Supreme Court allowed his appeal against a Bombay High Court order rejecting his bail plea.

The apex court had directed that he be released on bail subject to conditions to be fixed by the trial court. The defence argued that Pandey had been falsely implicated on the basis of “shaky identification evidence” and has no criminal antecedents. It further submitted that he is a permanent resident of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand and runs a legitimate business, M/s MAA Constructions.

The defence also informed the court that his wife is undergoing treatment for Major Depressive Disorder at IHBAS, Delhi, and that the couple has two minor children. The prosecution opposed the plea, calling it a serious economic offence involving public money. It alleged that Pandey received around ₹15 crore of the defrauded amount through co-accused persons as part of a larger “cash-for-CSR” conspiracy.

However, the magistrate court said it was bound by the Supreme Court’s order. Granting bail, the court observed that the apex court had considered “the nature of offence, period of custody, filing of chargesheet, grant of bail to co-accused and the limited role attributed to the Applicant” and found no justification for his continued incarceration.

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