The Bombay High Court on Wednesday deferred the bail plea hearing of Jignesh Shah, prime accused in National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) scam, till August 5. The court said it was inclined to look into the matter after the completion of 90 days’ arrest of Mr. Shah, when the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) is likely to file a charge sheet against him.
The police have been directed to submit a copy of the charge sheet to the High Court by August 5. Thereafter, his bail application will be decided on merit.
“It is better to consider the bail application after the investigation is over. Anyway the basic prayer of the EOW is that their investigation is incomplete. I will decide the matter within a day or two after the charge sheet is filed,” Justice Abhay Thipsay said.
Mr. Shah was placed under arrest on May 7. He has already spent 85 days in custody. The court said it would look at any new evidence if it was placed on record in the charge sheet. The EOW has opposed the bail plea saying that he is a prime accused and the investigation against him is still under progress. Mr. Shah, represented by senior counsel Mahesh Jethmalani, argued that he had not played any role in the scam, as he was the non-executive director of NSEL.
The court too asked the investigating agency to show how he had gained any pecuniary benefits from the scam.
