Kolkata, Sep 9 The Calcutta High Court has granted bail to a man accused of extortion and money laundering, taking note of his prolonged incarceration of more than a year while the investigation is pending.
It was alleged that petitioner Sk Jinnar Ali duped individuals, including the de facto complainant, of huge sums of money by posing as an Enforcement Department (ED) officer.
Bidhannagar South police station had registered an FIR against Ali on a complaint by Tapan Kumar Poi, alleging that he was forced to pay a total of Rs 21.30 crore in cash between August 2023 and June 2024.
Based on the investigation, the ED registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) and took Ali into custody.
Justice Jay Sengupta directed that Ali be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties of like amount each, one of whom must be a local.
Passing the order on Monday, the court directed Ali to surrender his passport before the trial court and not leave its territorial jurisdiction without its permission.
Justice Sengupta granted bail to Ali, considering that he had been in custody for more than a year in connection with the present case, while he was already on bail in the main case registered with the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate, where the investigation was still pending.
The judge noted that the Supreme Court had held that prolonged incarceration of an accused may, in certain cases, outweigh the rigours of provisions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The petitioner was shown as arrested in connection with the predicate offence case and produced before a magistrate on July 22, 2025, and was subsequently released on bail on August 20, 2025, the High Court noted.
Ali’s lawyer claimed that the dispute was essentially civil in nature over the complainant’s claim of Rs 20 lakh against him and that the legal notice served on the petitioner did not allege any impersonation by him.
