Ranchi, Aug 28: Three fraud accused were granted anticipatory bail by the Jharkhand High Court after they agreed to donate an amount pronounced by the bench for the Kerala floods relief fund.

The bench led by Justice AB Singh on Tuesday, while hearing the anticipatory bail plea of one Utpal Ray in a cheating and forgery case, granted him bail on the condition that he donates Rs 7,000 to the Kerala Chief Minister's Relief Fund.

The court had similarly granted relief to two other fraud accused Dhaneshwar Mandal and Shambhu Mandal, on the condition of donating Rs 5,000 for flood relief.

Before approving the application, the bench said they will have to submit proof before the court of the donations.

Jharkhand High Court Advocate Association general secretary Hemant Kumar Sikarwar, while speaking to IANS, said the Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh high courts have also resorted to a similar decision while granting anticipatory bails.

Floods in Kerala, in the first half of this month, displaced nearly 10 lakh people and claimed at least 302 lives. The losses incurred by the state has been pegged by the government at Rs 21,000 crores.

Senior members of the judiciary, including members of the Supreme Court's Collegium, visited the flood-ravaged state over the weekend to take stock of the situation at the relief camps.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 28, 2018 11:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).