SC Grants Interim Bail To Grand Venice Mall Promoter Satindar Singh Bhasin

The Supreme Court has granted interim bail to Noida-based builder Satindar Singh Bhasin in respect of the complaints pertaining to project by name "Grand Venice" in National Capital Region.

Bhasin, accused of cheating many of his customers, had approached the Apex Court seeking a direction to the CBI to take over investigation of all the FIRs registered against him. As an alternative relief, he prayed that the FIRs filed against the petitioner at different points of time in the State of UP or the State of NCT of Delhi be consolidated and the investigation be entrusted to one agency so that criminal action against the petitioner can proceed at one place.

Though the bench comprising of Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice Dinesh Maheshwari said that it is not inclined to order a CBI investigation, it observed that issue raised regarding entrusting the investigation of all the FIRs to one agency in one State by transfer of FIRs and investigation thereof from one State to another State, is a debatable one.

Taking overall view of the matter, therefore, we are inclined to grant interim relief claimed by the petitioner to release him on bail directly by this Court in connection with all the FIRs mentioned in prayer clause (c) and other FIRs that have been or likely to be registered against the petitioner in connection with the project, namely, "Grand Venice", in particular, Mall and Commercial Tower thereof, at Police Station Kasna, Gautam Budh Nagar, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh or any other Police Station within the territory of the State of Uttar Pradesh and, in the same manner, the FIRs registered at the Police Stations in the State of NCT of Delhi at Police Station Parliament Street and by the Economic Offences Wing New Delhi or otherwise.

The bench, however, refused to grant stay of proceedings pending against him in connection with the FIRs registered at Police Station Kasna, Gautam Budh Nagar, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh does not arise as the same are being investigated by one investigating agency.

The court also directed Bhasin to deposit Rupees fifty crore only before the Registry as a precondition for grant of bail.