In Brief
Manoranjana Sinh sought bail in the Saradha Group chit-fund scam case after spending 15 months in judicial custody. The CBI opposed her release, citing the ongoing investigation into this large-scale Ponzi scheme affecting lakhs of depositors across multiple states. Though the appellant was charge-sheeted, she suffered from multiple serious ailments (heart disease, asthma, angina) and was fully cooperating with the investigation. The Court held that detention for an indefinite period without showing continued custody as essential for investigation violates Article 21. Balancing investigation imperatives against fundamental liberty rights, the Court granted bail, noting that seriousness of charge alone does not justify indefinite pre-conviction detention, especially where no convincing material showed misuse of liberty."
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