INS Vikrant case: Bombay HC grants pre-arrest bail to BJP's Kirit Somaiya

Somaiya and his son, Neil, have been accused of siphoning off the ₹57 crore collected through crowdfunding to preserve INS Vikrant, the Indian Navy's first aircraft carrier.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya was on Wednesday granted pre-arrest bail by the Bombay high court in the case over the alleged misappropriation of funds to preserve INS Vikrant, the first aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy. The development came two days after Somaiya was denied anticipatory bail by the sessions court in connection with the same case, prompting him to approach the high court.

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya (File Photo/PTI)

Somaiya and his son, Neil, are being investigated by the Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for allegedly failing to submit with the Maharashtra Raj Bhavan, the ₹57 crore collected through crowdfunding to prevent INS Vikrant from being scrapped. On April 7, the Trombay Police registered an FIR against the father-son duo under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), on the basis of a complaint filed by a former army officer.

On April 10, the Maharashtra government transferred the case to the EOW of the Mumbai Police.

It is to be noted that while the drive to collect donation to preserve INS Vikrant was held in 2013-14, the controversy returned to public domain in recent days after the case was mentioned by Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, whose family is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over an alleged money-laundering case.

Somaiya, the BJP’s former MP from the Mumbai North-East constituency, has refuted all allegations made against him and his son.