CBI court grants bail to NCLT Mumbai Deputy Registrar in bribery case

A special CBI court in Mumbai recently granted bail to Charan Pratap Singh, Deputy Registrar of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai Bench, in a bribery case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) [Charan Pratap Singh v Central Bureau of Investigation]..Singh was arrested for allegedly demanding and accepting ₹3 lakh from a litigant in exchange for a favorable order.A special court on June 13 granted him bail subject to execution of a personal bond of ₹1 lakh. Special Judge Amit V Kharkar, while allowing the bail application, observed that no purpose would be served by keeping Singh in custody. “From the circumstances on record, the amount of bribe has been recovered, investigation qua the applicant is over, the applicant is a public servant and there is no serious allegations that he possessed fly risk. Considering the nature of allegations and that the investigation qua the applicant is over no fruitful purpose would be served by keeping the applicant in custody,” the Court said..As per the facts recorded in the CBI FIR, the complainant, a hotel owner, had filed a petition before Court No IV of NCLT Mumbai on November 2, 2020, in relation to a title dispute with his brothers. On May 11 this year, Singh, who was then serving as Deputy Registrar, allegedly approached the complainant and demanded a bribe of ₹3.5 lakh to use his influence within the tribunal to ensure a favourable outcome.After negotiation, the demand was reduced to ₹3 lakh.Acting on the complaint, the CBI laid a trap and on May 29, one of the accused was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe on behalf of Singh. However, Singh managed to flee and was arrested later. The trap involved ₹1 lakh in genuine currency and ₹2 lakh in pre-prepared dummy notes. The CBI thereafter carried out searches at locations linked to the accused in Mumbai and Lucknow.Singh later moved the special court for bail.The court, after considering the stage of investigation and nature of allegations, granted Singh bail..Advocate SK Saxena appeared for Singh.Special Public Prosecutors Sandeep Singh and Sandeep Kumar appeared for CBI..[Read Order]