A single judge bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma granted bail to Irani (52), a close aide of Chandrashekar, who has been in custody since November 30, 2022. The Delhi High Court Friday granted bail to Pinky Irani in connection with the Rs 200-crore extortion case against alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekar. A single judge bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma granted bail to Irani (52), a close aide of Chandrashekar, who has been in custody since November 30, 2022. It took into account Irani’s age and said that there was nothing on record about her criminal antecedents. The HC granted bail to Irani on her furnishing a personal bail bond of Rs 5 lakh with two sureties of the like amount, subject to certain conditions. She had moved the HC against a March 4 order by the trial court, which had dismissed her bail plea.

Justice Sharma said that the allegations against Irani are required to be tested during the trial to meet the requirements of MCOCA. “It is also a matter of trial that whether money received by the petitioner (Irani) was for gaining undue economic advantage, as the case of defence is that this money was transferred for distributing gifts to the celebrities,” it added. It said that even in a MCOCA case, the court is not required to arrive at a “positive finding” that the applicant has not committed the offence. “It is a settled proposition that at the stage of bail, the Court cannot meticulously examine the evidence and conduct a mini trial. The findings at this stage are tentative in nature and do not affect the merits of the case. The case at this stage has to be seen from the prima-facie angle,” the HC said. The Delhi police had alleged that Irani has been an active member of the Organized Crime Syndicate, as defined under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), allegedly run by Chandrashekhar, which surfaced after a probe conducted by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW). The police alleged that as per evidence, Irani was roped in by Chandrashekhar to facilitate him to get in touch with various Bollywood celebrities. Irani, who claimed to have known Sukesh for approximately 12 years, was aware of the fact that he was running an organized crime syndicate from Tihar Jail. The police had alleged that it is not mandatory that each syndicate member should have a direct role to play in the foundational crime and in the context of MCOCA, the abetment is of utmost significance. Police said that Irani projected Sukesh as a high ranking official to the female actresses, who could be a catalyst in enhancing their career prospects, which “clearly establishes that in the mind of Pinky Irani, there was no ambiguity as regards the true identity and syndicate activities” of Sukesh. The EOW case follows an FIR filed by Aditi Singh, wife of former Fortis promoter Shivinder Singh, who claimed she was duped by Chandrashekhar and extorted Rs 200 crore from her under the pretext of securing bail for her husband.