Bhushan steel case: Former vice chairman Aarti Singal gets bail

By Team Newsable | First Published Mar 29, 2022, 10:45 AM IST

The court also observed that Aarti Singal deserves to be granted the benefit of special status to woman as provided under provisions of Section 437 and Section 212(6) of the Companies Act, 2013 taking into consideration her role of being a passive woman director is concerned.

A Special Court in Delhi has granted bail to Aarti Singal, former vice chairman and director at Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd, who was arrested by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) last week on charges of financial irregularities to the tune of Rs 5,500 crores.

“There is absolutely nothing on record that she had acted independently or constituted the mind or will and/had acted independently in the commission of the offence of fraud,” the Delhi court said in its order.

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Singal was arrested by SFIO on March 21, 2022 and was produced before the Special Court in Dwarka on March 22, 2022.

Special Judge Sumit Das on March 28, while passing the order, said that no independent role of Aarti Singhal has been brought out on record by SFIO except that she has, jointly with her husband, signed cheques or issued instructions to the bank for issuance of Demand Draft (DD).

Singal’s counsel Vijay Aggarwal had earlier argued that she was only a figurehead in the company and that the real management was with her husband Sanjay Singal and other senior functionaries.

The court order recorded that there is “nothing independent to Singal except that she and Sanjay Singal had signed cheques or issued instructions to the banks, for issuance, of demand drafts, and freight was paid by her from the bank accounts operated by her jointly with her husband”.

“As being a dutiful/obedient wife, she obviously would toe the line articulated by her husband and she was in all probabilities acting at the behest of her husband,” it said. “She has not been charge-sheeted in the case of Enforcement Directorate (ED) wherein charge sheet has been filed by the ED.”

Taking into consideration the enabling provision to Section 212(6) of the Companies Act providing beneficial treatments to the women, the role of Aarti Singal and the order of the Supreme Court directing no coercive steps to be taken against three other accused persons in the case and being of the opinion that accused satisfies the triple test laid down for the grant of bail, the court granted bail to Aarti on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 10,00,000 with one surety in the like amount.

In addition, the court also imposed certain conditions on Aarti Singal including a compulsory visit to the office of SFIO daily for the next 20 working days and subsequently for the next two weeks, a visit to SFIO Office thrice and thereafter twice for the next two weeks.

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