Extortion bid case: 2 Zee editors get bail

After spending 20 days in jail, two Zee Group editors were on Monday granted bail by a Delhi court in the case of alleged Rs 100-crore extortion bid from Congress MP Naveen Jindal's firm.

"The bail has been granted to both the accused," Additional Sessions Judge Raj Rani Mitra said allowing the plea of Zee News editor Sudhir Chaudhary and Zee Business editor Samir Ahluwalia who were arrested by Delhi police on November 27. The court said both would be released on furnishing a bail-bond and surety of Rs 50,000 each. They were directed to surrender their passports and not leave the country without the permission of the court which also asked them to cooperate with the investigation. The court on Saturday had reserved its order on the bail plea of the two editors after hearing them for around five hours during which the Delhi police had opposed their application for grant of relief. Both Chaudhary and Ahluwalia, who were lodged in Tihar jail, have been booked under Sections 384 (extortion), 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 51 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment) of the IPC.