CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has granted bail to Chintan Raghuvanshi, a 2013-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer and deputy director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), who was arrested by CBI on May 30 in connection with a bribery case.
Justice Gourishankar Satapathy granted bail to Raghuvanshi on furnishing bail bonds of Rs 1 lakh with two solvent sureties of the same amount to the satisfaction of the trial court. As part of the bail conditions, the court directed the surrender of Raghuvanshi’s passport and restricted him from leaving the country without prior permission. Senior advocates Ashok Parija and Saura Chandra Mohapatra along with advocate Lalitendu Mishra represented the IRS officer.
In a detailed order on July 23, Justice Satapathy noted that while the investigation had progressed significantly, there was no immediate prospect of trial. He observed that Raghuvanshi had been in custody for over 50 days and the offence, although serious, carries a maximum punishment of seven years. It was also noted that the CBI had not sought custodial interrogation and that Raghuvanshi had cooperated with investigators, including providing his mobile phone password and complying with interim bail conditions.
The court also granted bail to Bhakti Binod Behera setting identical conditions.