The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to Mumbai-based model Preeti Bhatia, an accused in the multi-crore Odisha chit fund scam.
Bhatia was arrested by the CBI for her alleged complicity with the Artha Tatwa (AT) Group, a major player in the mega chit fund scam in the State, on October 10 last year. She is now lodged in the Jharpada jail in Bhubaneswar.
The model had moved the apex court after her bail plea was rejected first by the CJM Court of CBI, then the Khordha District and Sessions Court and subsequently by the Odisha High Court on March 16 this year. On March 16, Bhatia’s counsel had filed the appeal before the Supreme Court challenging the order of the High Court, which had turned down her bail petition on the same day.
Hearing the case, the apex court had directed Bhatia to deposit a sum of `1,17,83, 000 within six weeks with the Special CBI Court. Only after the amount was deposited by her would the court consider whether she would be granted bail, the apex court had said. Bhatia on June 5 this year deposited `1,17,83,000 at the Special CJM Court of the CBI in Bhubaneswar as a precondition set by the Supreme Court for her bail plea to be heard. Bhatia’s counsel AK Singh had deposited the sum in the CBI court.