New Delhi: In a major relief to Hi-tech Group's chairman Tirupati Panigrahi and two directors, the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday agreed to grant them conditional bail in connection with fraudulent land deal case.
Sources said the trio was released on surety bond of Rs 5 lakh each. Besides, the bench of the apex court asked them to surrender their passports.
Panigrahi was granted bail after his company deposited Rs 10 crore out of Rs 63.5 crore as per the direction of the court. He was asked to deposit the rest of the amount within three months.
Meanwhile, the bench added if the Hi-tech Group Chairman does not obey the court's order the state government can appeal to the apex court seeking rejection of Panigrahi's bail.
Earlier, on February 8, the SC had rejected the bail pleas of the trio as Panigrahi did not comply with the court order and deposited only Rs 5 crore.
It may be mentioned that in October 2013, while hearing his bail application the SC has ordered him to return the land to the people from whom the company had taken advance money, before applying for bail.
The State Crime Branch on December 25, 2012, arrested Panigrahi and his directors, Tirupati Choudhury and Madhusudan Panigrahi, on charges of duping hundreds of land buyers worth crores of rupees by floating dubious land and housing schemes in the city and on its outskirts. Five cases were registered against Panigrahi.