SC grants interim bail to director of Greater Noida's Grand Venice Mall

The Supreme Court Wednesday granted interim bail to director of Grand Venice Mall in Greater Noida in a case pertaining to complaints by some allottees of shops and directed him to deposit Rs 50 crore as a precondition for the relief.

Satindar Singh Bhasin, who was arrested on charges of cheating and fraudulently selling properties to several people, had approached the apex court seeking interim relief.

He sought directions to the CBI to take over investigation of all the FIRs registered against the petitioner in UP and Delhi in connection with the "Grand Venice" project in the NCR, in particular a Mall and a Commercial Tower.

The plea also sought that the FIRs filed against Bhasin at different points of time in UP and Delhi be consolidated and the investigation be entrusted to one agency so that criminal action against him can proceed at one place.

A bench comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari directed Bhasin to deposit an aggregate amount of Rs 50 crore before the Registry as a precondition for the bail.

"We are inclined to grant interim relief claimed by 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 petitioner in connection with the project at police station Kasna, Gautam Budh Nagar, Greater Noida, UP 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 Economic Offences Wing New Delhi or otherwise," the bench said.

It also directed him to furnish a personal bail bond of Rs 5 lakh with one surety in the like amount in connection with each FIR independently