Chandigarh property grab case: HC grants bail to liquor baron

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday granted bail to liquor baron Arvind Singla, who was accused in the Chandigarh property grab case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday granted bail to liquor baron Arvind Singla, who was accused in the Sector 37-property-grab case.

The order was passed by justice Avneesh Jhingan, on the liquor baron’s plea arguing that he had been in custody since June 11 and that the investigation had been completed and no further recovery was to be made. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The order was passed by justice Avneesh Jhingan, on Singla’s plea arguing that he had been in custody since June 11. The plea further stated that the investigation had been completed and no further recovery was to be made.

The ultimate purchaser of the property, Saurabh Gupta, his brother Manish Gupta, and one co-accused, Satpal Dagar, had all been granted bail, the plea further added.

“The court passed the bail order considering that the co-accused were also granted bail, while also taking into account the custody period and the fact that conclusion of the trial is likely to take time,” Gautam Dutt, the accused’s counsel said.

The FIR in the case was registered on March 2, 2021, at the Sector 39 police station against around 10 people for kidnapping and torturing Rahul Mehta, the only surviving heir of his family, in April 2017 to secure the general power of attorney (GPA) of his 338-square-yard-house. The accused sold the property for ₹2.9 crore in March 2019.

The case had been registered following a probe into a 2019 complaint, submitted by Mehta’s tenant Pradeep Ratan to the Senior Superintendent of Police’s office.

Besides Singla, former journalist Sanjeev Mahajan, realtor Manish Gupta, Satpal Dagar, brother of a Chandigarh police deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and suspended Chandigarh Police inspector Rajdeep Singh, were amongst the other accused in the case.