Kolkata : In a noteworthy development in the multi-crore Saradha scam case, previous minister and one of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s trusted lieutenants Madan Mitra was conceded bail by a city court on Friday.

The result comes about 21 months after Mr. Mitra was nabbed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for claimed “cheating and misappropriation of money” regarding the Saradha scam in December 2014. He was released on bail for a brief period in October a year ago.

Refuting the CBI’s plea that if granted bail an “influential person” like Mr. Mitra would hamper the probe in the Saradha case, his lawyers argued that the he was no longer an influential person. Mr. Mitra, who resigned from the post of the State’s Transport Minister in November last year, failed to retain the Kamarhati Assembly seat in North 24 Parganas in the Assembly polls.

Apart from a bail bond of Rs. 30 lakh, the court has imposed several conditions on Mr. Mitra. He will have to submit his passport to the local police station and appear at the CBI office once every week. Asked whether the CBI will appeal against the lower court’s verdict in the higher court, the central agency’s counsel Partha Sarathi Dutta said that their “senior officials will take a call later”.