Shekhar Chandrashekhar and his alleged girlfriend were involved in setting up a sham company that launched various investment schemes, allegedly accumulating 19 crore through a Ponzi scheme.

Following his arrest in May 2015, Chandrashekhar applied for bail from the Bombay High Court, which was denied. He then appealed to the Supreme Court, which initially granted him bail under specific conditions, resulting in his release in September 2016. However, his failure to meet these conditions led the Supreme Court to revoke his bail, resulting in his re-arrest in April 2017.

In 2020, a designated court under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 1999 [MPID Act], rejected his bail plea, prompting his current appeal before the High Court.

The High Court dismissed the State’s argument that Chandrashekhar’s subsequent imprisonment (from April 4, 2017, onwards) was unrelated to the present case.

Justice Manish Pitale noted that Chandrashekhar had already spent more than 7 years in jail, surpassing the potential maximum sentence he might face if convicted.

The Court justified granting bail on the grounds that an accused should be released on bail when they have served more than half of the maximum sentence they could potentially receive.

“the total period of incarceration suffered by the applicant is about seven years and ten months. It is certainly more than the maximum period of sentence that can be imposed upon the applicant, even if he is convicted for the offences registered under the subject FIR,” the court observed.

It is important to note here that he will remain in jail due to other cases pending against him.

Case name: (Shekhar Chandrashekhar V. State of Maharashtra)