Former Deputy Commissioner of Ranchi, Mr. Chhavi Ranjan (2011-batch IAS officer), who is accused in a high-profile army land scam, has approached the Supreme Court seeking bail. A petition has been filed on his behalf challenging the Jharkhand High Court’s decision, which had earlier rejected his bail plea on August 6.
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Mr. Ranjan, currently lodged in jail, has been under judicial custody since May 4, 2023, and has now completed over 25 months behind bars. During the hearing, he argued that due to the duration of his imprisonment, he should be granted bail.
ED Opposes Bail Plea Citing Serious Offences
Appearing for the Enforcement Directorate (ED), advocates Mr. Amit Kumar Das and Mr. Saurabh Singh strongly opposed the bail plea. They argued that merely serving one-third of the jail term cannot be grounds for bail in a case involving serious economic offences, especially for repeat offenders.
They also informed the court that another case related to a land scam is pending against Mr. Ranjan, which further disqualifies him from seeking bail under such provisions.
Background of the Case
The case involves the alleged fraudulent sale and purchase of 4.55 acres of army land in Ranchi. On April 13 and 14, 2023, the ED conducted raids at 22 locations connected to 18 individuals, including Mr. Chhavi Ranjan and Mr. Bhanu Pratap Prasad, the then Deputy Revenue Officer of the Bargai Zone.
During these raids, the ED recovered fake land deeds and forged documents linked to the illegal transactions.
Following the investigation, a chargesheet was filed in the special ED court against 10 accused, including Mr. Chhavi Ranjan and Mr. Amit Agarwal. Mr. Ranjan, who was serving as Ranchi DC at the time of the alleged offence, is accused of facilitating the sale and purchase of the land using forged documents.
Supreme Court Yet to Decide on Bail Plea
The Supreme Court has not yet given its verdict on the petition. The case remains under scrutiny as authorities continue to investigate multiple layers of the land scam in Jharkhand.
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