Court allows Kadam to travel outside city for 8 days

Special judge R N Rokade observed that Kadam had been complying with bail conditions imposed by the Bombay high court

MUMBAI: A special court on Friday permitted former legislator and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ramesh Kadam to travel outside Mumbai for eight days, as he is scheduled to attend the State Legislative Assembly session in Nagpur in the first week of December.

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Special judge R N Rokade observed that Kadam had been complying with bail conditions imposed by the Bombay high court (HC). “It is well settled that the right to travel is a valuable one and an integral part of the right to personal liberty,” said the court, directing him to furnish ₹1lakh as security and intimate the office of the Superintendent of Police, State CID (crime) immediately upon his return.

The high court had granted bail to Kadam in March 2023, on condition that he would not leave the city without the trial court’s permission. According to Friday’s trial court order, Kadam is a native of Solapur, a drought-prone district that was also his political constituency. He wants to attend the state legislative assembly session in Nagpur on 7 December, where he intends to represent the grievances of the residents of Solapur and raise other issues like access to adequate food, possible loss of life due to starvation and infectious diseases during famines and droughts. He pleaded that it was important for him to be physically present in the assembly to ensure proper representation of all concerned issues.

The prosecution, represented by special public prosecutor Ajay Misar, strenuously submitted that the applicant was not a sitting MLA. He prayed for the rejection of the application considering the gravity of the role played by the applicant in economic offences registered against him.

Advocate Inderpal Singh, appearing for Kadam, vehemently urged that the applicant was a former member of the Legislative Assembly from Mohol constituency and had devoted his life to public service.

In 2012, Kadam was embroiled in a scam involving the misappropriation of funds in the Sahityaratna Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe Development Corporation (SLASDC) of the Maharashtra government. This was one of several cases lodged against the former MLA.

Kadam was appointed chairman of SLASDC for three years in 2012. But he was removed in 2014 following accusations that he had misused and abused his position for personal benefit. He had allegedly created false documents and misappropriated ₹312.26 crore from SLASDC between 2012 and 2014.