Bombay High Court Grants Bail to Sanjay Raut's Alleged Aide Sujit Patkar in COVID-19 Jumbo Centre Scam Case

The Bombay High Court has granted bail to Sujit Patkar, an alleged aide of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, in a multi-crore COVID-19 jumbo centre scam case. The scam involves alleged irregularities in awarding and executing contracts for managing jumbo COVID-19 treatment facilities during the pandemic in Mumbai. The court emphasized the delay in trial commencement, custody period, and parity with a co-accused who was not arrested in the case. Patkar was arrested by the ED on July 19, 2023, and has been in judicial custody since.

The Bombay High Court has granted bail to businessman Sujit Patkar, an alleged aide of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, in a multi-crore COVID-19 jumbo centre scam case. The scam involves alleged irregularities in awarding and executing contracts for managing jumbo COVID-19 treatment facilities during the pandemic in Mumbai. The court emphasized the delay in trial commencement, custody period, and parity with a co-accused who was not arrested in the case.

Patkar was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on July 19, 2023, and has been in judicial custody since. The ED has alleged that Patkar, a partner in Lifeline Hospital Management Services (LHMS), secured contracts to operate jumbo COVID centres at NSCI Worli and Dahisar from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) by submitting forged documents, including a fabricated partnership deed to qualify for the contract. After securing the contracts, Patkar and other accused submitted inflated attendance sheets, false invoices, and fictitious staff deployment records, thereby claiming and receiving funds to the tune of over ₹32,76,33,861.50 crore. It is alleged that this caused a wrongful loss to the BMC and a wrongful gain of ₹18.5 crore to LHMS and its partners [1].

In an order passed on July 16, a Single Bench judge, Justice Amit Borkar, allowed Patkar’s release on bail. The court noted the delay in the commencement of trial, the period of custody already undergone, and parity with a co-accused who was not arrested in the case. The ED has submitted a voluminous charge sheet comprising approximately 5,000 pages, with 63 witnesses listed. Noting that framing of charges had not yet commenced and the likelihood that the trial would be prolonged, the court held that Patkar’s continued incarceration would be unjustified [1].

Patkar has been directed to execute a personal bond of ₹1,00,000 with two solvent sureties and comply with conditions including not leaving Maharashtra without prior permission, appearing before the investigating officer regularly, and refraining from tampering with evidence or contacting prosecution witnesses. The court also clarified that any breach of these conditions would lead to the cancellation of bail.

The Bombay High Court’s decision to grant bail to Patkar comes amidst ongoing legal proceedings involving the HDFC Bank CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan, whose plea against a bribery case was finally heard after multiple judicial recusals [2]. The court’s emphasis on the principles of parity and delay in trial commencement highlights the importance of judicial fairness and efficiency in criminal proceedings.

References:
[1] https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/jumbo-covid-19-centres-scam-bombay-high-court-grants-bail-to-sanjay-rauts-alleged-aide-sujit-patkar/article69819130.ece
[2] https://lawtrend.in/hdfc-bank-ceos-plea-against-bribery-fir-finally-heard-after-multiple-judge-recusals-in-bombay-high-court/