PoliticsSupreme Court
Supreme Court grants bail to former RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh in financial irregularities case
The bench noted that he has been in custody for more than two years and that only seven of 147 witnesses have been examined in the CBI case.
Key points
- The Supreme Court set aside the Calcutta High Court's 23 February 2026 order refusing Sandip Ghosh bail.
- It noted that only 7 of 147 witnesses have been examined so far.
- The trial court will set the terms of his release.
The Supreme Court has granted bail to Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, in the CBI’s case over financial irregularities at the institution, noting that the trial has barely begun after more than two years.
A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale set aside the Calcutta High Court’s order of 23 February 2026, which had turned down his bail plea. The order was passed on Thursday and became public on Saturday.
The bench pointed to the slow pace of the trial. It recorded that “only 07 out of 147 witnesses have been examined so far” while Ghosh had spent more than two years in custody.
“We are inclined to set aside the impugned order passed by the High Court and allow this appeal,” the bench said, adding that “the appellant is granted bail on such terms and conditions as may be imposed by the concerned trial court”.
The CBI named Ghosh in a charge sheet dated 24 August 2024. He faces charges of criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, cheating, forgery and using forged documents under the Indian Penal Code, along with offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The agency alleges financial wrongdoing at the college and manipulation of merit scores to favour undeserving candidates.
The trial court rejected his bail applications on 7 January 2025, and the High Court dismissed his plea in February this year.