Delhi High Court to Hear Sukanya Mondal’s Bail Plea in Cattle Smuggling Case

The Delhi High Court has scheduled a hearing for Sukanya Mondal’s bail plea on Monday. Sukanya was arrested on April 26, 2023, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a multi-crore cattle smuggling operation. She has been in custody since her arrest.

Her initial bail plea was dismissed by the trial court on June 1, 2023, leading her to seek relief from the High Court. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna will hear the case at 3 p.m. on Monday. Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, representing Sukanya, highlighted that she has been in custody since April and that the ED has already filed a charge sheet against her.

Earlier, Sukanya’s counsel, Advocate Amit Kumar, argued for bail based on parity with another accused, Tanya Sanyal, who was not arrested despite similar charges. Tanya, the wife of BSF commandant Satish Kumar, was granted bail without opposition from the ED.

The ED, represented by a Special Public Prosecutor (SPP), presented incriminating evidence against Sukanya and argued that her release would pose a threat to national security and the economy. The SPP also noted that Sukanya’s father, Anubrata Mondal, a TMC leader, is also in custody for the same case. Sukanya is accused of managing her father’s business activities and laundering crime proceeds through multiple bank accounts and business entities.

Anubrata Mondal, a close aide of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, was arrested by the CBI in July 2022 and later by the ED. The case is ongoing at the CBI Court of Asansol in West Bengal, with several accused in judicial custody.