The Bombay high court on Friday granted bail of Rs 5 lakh to MCX promoter Jignesh Shah arrested on May 7 in the Rs 5,000 crore National Spot Exchange Ltd, a commodities exchange scam. Justice Abhay Thipsay who released Shah on bail held that his custody was not essential for further investigation now. 

 

Shah has been charged with criminal misappropriation, forgery, criminal conspiracy and under the MPID Act for ''duping investors''. The judge who had reserved the matter for order after hearing Shah's lawyers Mahesh Jethmalani and Amit Naik had waited for the 9,300-page chargesheet to be filed by the EOW as it was nearly 90 days when the bail plea was heard. 

On Friday, his other lawyer Aniket Nikam said Shah's health had deteriorated in jail as he developed a spinal problem. He sought cash bail to secure an immediate release. The judge however said he should within two weeks furnish two sureities of Rs 5 lakh each. The HC did not accept Shah's claim that he was unaware of the fraudulent transactions at NSEL. 

However, Justice Thipsay also did not spare the investors who he said are "now crying foul, were not aware of the fact that their transactions were not genuine." "The persons whose money was lost are apparently not genuine traders for whom NSEL was supposed to provide a platform," the HC said and added, that the "so-called buyers who now choose to describe themselves as investors" knew that the transactions were not genuine." "...it was only an investment yielding high returns for their money. These investors are not middle class or lower class people, but are themselves businessmen. Transactions were through brokers who know the commercial market.''

The HC said the EOW's case earlier was that co-accused Anjani Sinha, the CEO of NSEL had taken entire responsibility of the wrongs upon him. The agency didn't find it "necessary" to arrest Shah then and in fact went ahead and filed a chargesheet against those already arrested and attached Shah's property, the judge said.  (Times of India)