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Gujarat High Court denies bail to Trinamool leader Saket Gokhale; check details

On the allegation of the misappropriation or personal use of funds, Asim Pandya told the high court that since Gokhale is a full-time activist, there cannot be bifurcation that "this much fund is for running campaigns and this much for personal use".

Gujarat High Court denies bail to Trinamool leader Saket Gokhale; check details AJR
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First Published Jan 23, 2023, 8:05 PM IST

The Gujarat High Court on Monday (January 23) refused to issue regular bail to Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson Saket Gokhale in a case related to alleged misuse of money collected through crowd-funding. High Court Justice Samir Dave asked the TMC leader to approach the court only after a chargesheet is filed.

"We will consider the plea only after the charge sheet is filed," said Justice Dave.

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The TMC leader had approached the high court after a sessions court and a magistrate's court in Ahmedabad denied him bail recently following his arrest and expiry of remand. Since January 5, the TMC leader has been in judicial custody and lodged at a jail in Ahmedabad.

Senior advocate Asim Pandya, appearing for the TMC leader, sought relief saying stringent Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections, including forgery, have been intentionally invoked against Gokhale to make sure that he does not get bail.

"There was no element of forgery in funds collected by Gokhale through an online platform which is used by even political parties. He is innocent and made a scapegoat. He is a full-time activist sustaining on donations received through crowdfunding. As soon as he joined TMC, he stopped accepting funds to prove his bonafide," Pandya said.

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On the allegation of the misappropriation or personal use of funds, Pandya told the high court that since Gokhale is a full-time activist, there cannot be bifurcation that "this much fund is for running campaigns and this much for personal use".

Gokhale was arrested by the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch from Delhi on December 30, 2022, in a case of alleged misuse of money he had collected through crowdfunding.

He is facing charges under sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 467 (forgery) of the IPC. The First Information Report was registered on a complaint filed by an Ahmedabad resident who claimed to have donated money to Gokhale through online mode.

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