The CBI arrested Charan Pratap Singh, Deputy Registrar of NCLT Mumbai, and his associate Karsan Ganesh Ahir for allegedly accepting a Rs. 3 lakh bribe from a hotel owner to influence a case pending since 2020
MUMBAI: In a major anti-corruption operation, the Mumbai unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Charan Pratap Singh, the Deputy Registrar of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai Bench, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs.3 lakh to help a hotel owner in a legal case.
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Singh was arrested along with one of his private contacts, Karsan Ganesh Ahir.
According to CBI officials, the hotel owner, who filed the complaint, was involved in a long-standing dispute over the ownership and financial issues of his hotel with his brothers. This matter has been pending before the NCLT’s Mumbai bench since November 2020.
The complainant alleged that on May 11, Deputy Registrar Charan Pratap Singh had “demanded Rs.3.50 lakh“ from him in exchange for help in settling the matter in his favour using his connections within the NCLT. After some negotiation, the bribe amount was agreed to be “Rs.3 lakh”, the CBI revealed.
On Wednesday evening, the CBI laid a trap at a restaurant in Colaba. As per officials, of the Rs. 3 lakh bribe amount, “Rs.1 lakh was in real currency while the rest was dummy currency”.
During the operation, Karsan Ganesh Ahir was “caught red-handed while accepting the bribe from the complainant on behalf of Singh”.
Shortly after, Singh was apprehended from a residence in Colaba, and both accused were arrested at around 4 a.m. on Thursday. They were produced before a special CBI court in Mumbai later the same day.
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The CBI carried out searches at multiple locations linked to the accused in Mumbai and Lucknow to collect more evidence.
Officials said the accused deputy registrar was employed in the “registry department at NCLT, which handles key administrative functions including the listing of cases before the courts”.
This department is considered crucial as it plays a role in how and when cases are listed for hearings.
CBI officials added that “the CBI has in the past received information related to alleged irregularities in the conduct of such functions”, suggesting a wider probe into corrupt practices at the registry level.
In court, the CBI explained that the arrest of the deputy registrar was based on “recorded conversations with the complainant in which he gave the impression that using his contacts he would get the matter settled in NCLT in favour of the complainant”.
The agency also said that Singh’s “custodial interrogation might lead to vital clues, regarding the involvement of other senior officials of NCLT, if any”, and hence sought permission to collect his “voice sample” as part of the investigation.
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