Supreme Court grants bail to banned zone commander of Jharkhand group in extortion and terrorist financing case

The Supreme Court on Monday granted interim bail to an alleged zonal commander of the banned Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC), who is facing trial on charges of extortion and terror financing under the Unlawful Activity (Prevention) Act and the Arms Act.

The TPC is a splinter group of the banned CPI (Maoist).

While granting relief to Dashrath Singh Bhokta alias Dashrath Ganjhu, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi took note of the fact that the other main accused are already out on bail.

The court directed the court to impose adequate conditions to guarantee his presence for the remainder of the proceedings.

The court passed the order even as the National Investigation Agency (NIA), represented by Additional Solicitor General KM Natraj, opposed Bhokta’s plea against a Jharkhand High Court order denying him bail.

Natraj argued that Bhokta was a member of a banned group and only six of the prosecution’s 60 witnesses were yet to be questioned. He urged the court to hear the case after the winter break.

However, the court granted interim relief to Bhokta taking into account long-term detention and the principle of parity.

Bhokta has been in judicial custody since May 17, 2020 in connection with the case at Panki police station, which was later taken over by the NIA.

He is accused of extorting money from businessmen and contractors across Jharkhand, allegedly using the money to purchase weapons and finance the TPC’s operations, and of acquiring properties in his wife’s name using the illicit proceeds.