Delhi High Court has stayed trial court proceedings against Bina Modi and Lalit Bhasin in the alleged assault case filed by Samir Modi. The Court granted interim relief while seeking responses and further evidence, with the next hearing on July 29.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday put a temporary stop to the trial court proceedings against industrialist Bina Modi and Advocate Lalit Bhasin in a case related to the alleged assault of Godfrey Phillips India Executive Director Samir Modi.
Justice Saurabh Banerjee passed the interim order after both Bina Modi and Lalit Bhasin approached the High Court challenging the summons issued by the trial court on February 10, 2026.
While granting relief, the Court issued notice in the matter and directed further procedural steps. The Court stated,
“Issue notice. Learned APP [Additional Public Prosecutor] accepts notice. He seeks and is granted four weeks for filing status report. Issue notice to Respondent No 2 [Samir Modi] through IO [investigating officer]. Learned counsel for the parties are directed to file written synopsis not exceeding five pages, at least week prior to the next date of hearing. In the meanwhile, there shall be stay on the proceedings pending before the trial court,”
the Court order.
The matter is now scheduled to be heard on July 29.
This case arises from an ongoing family dispute within the Modi family over control of their business empire. Samir Modi, son of Bina Modi, has alleged that his mother mismanaged the family trust and excluded him from important decisions. However, Bina Modi has strongly denied these claims.
The present criminal case is based on a complaint filed by Samir Modi regarding an incident that allegedly took place on May 30, 2024, at the Jasola office of Godfrey Phillips India. Advocate Lalit Bhasin was also present at the meeting.
According to Samir Modi, he was trying to attend a board meeting when he was stopped by his mother’s personal security officer, Surendra Prasad, who claimed he was acting on her instructions. Samir Modi further alleged that he was physically assaulted during this incident and suffered a fracture in his finger, which later required surgery.
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During the investigation, the Delhi Police filed a chargesheet in March 2025, naming only the security officer as an accused. The police stated that there was no sufficient evidence to proceed against Bina Modi and Lalit Bhasin at that stage.
However, Samir Modi challenged this by filing a protest petition, requesting the court to include Bina Modi and Lalit Bhasin as accused persons. Accepting this plea, the trial court in February 2026 took cognisance of the matter and observed that there was prima facie material indicating possible involvement or a “meeting of minds” among the accused persons. Based on this observation, the court issued summons for further proceedings.
During the High Court hearing, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Bina Modi, strongly opposed the trial court’s decision. He argued that the case was based on incorrect findings and described it as a case of “complete perversity”.
Rohatgi presented CCTV footage before the Court and argued that the video clearly showed that Bina Modi had actually instructed that Samir Modi should be allowed to enter the meeting room.
He further submitted that Samir Modi attended the meeting for nearly two hours and only later filed the complaint regarding the alleged assault. Rohatgi pointed out inconsistencies in the allegations, stating that even after claiming to have suffered a fracture in his finger, Samir Modi continued to sit through the meeting and sign documents.
Highlighting the importance of video evidence, Rohatgi argued,
“The unimpeachable evidence is the CCTV. That is examined by the IO. He [IO] examined persons sitting in the room and other people. The CCTV shows that neither the petitioner [Bina Modi] nor the second petitioner [Lalit Bhasin] partook in the scuffle. In fact, they diffused the situation by asking the person [Samir Modi] to come in,”
Rohatgi stated.
Considering these submissions, the Delhi High Court decided to stay the trial court proceedings for the time being, giving both sides an opportunity to present their arguments in detail before the next hearing.
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