MLA Ramesh Kadam moves bail plea

Mumbai: Ramesh Kadam, a legislator who was formerly with the Nationalist Congress Party  and was arrested on charges of corruption by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has moved a bail application, contending that property worth Rs 139 crore of his was seized by the police, while the amount involved in the case is Rs 147 crore.

Kadam’s lawyer Sachin Pawar on Monday argued before judge S.M. Azmi that the applicant has already been behind bars for more than two-and-half years and the maximum punishment, if convicted, prescribed under the law for the charges he has been booked under is five years, and hence he should be granted bail.

It was further contended that as per the prosecution’s case, the applicant has been charged with cheating by way of procuring loans and not repaying them, so he has given an undertaking stating that he is ready to pay the amount with interest.

Apart from this, it was also argued before the court that all the evidence in the case are in the form of documents and statements of witnesses have been recorded under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which is admissible as evidence in the court of law and hence there is no possibility of tampering with evidence or witnesses so no purpose would be served by keeping him behind bars.

The court will continue hearing arguments on the bail application on next week.

The ACB had arrested Kadam on August 17, 2015 on charges of misappropriation of funds and financial irregularities.