HC grants bail to conman’s aide Pinky in Rs 200-cr extortion case

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Friday granted bail to Pinky Irani, a close aide of alleged fraudster Sukesh Chandrasekhar, in a Rs 200 crore extortion case.

The high court gave the relief to the woman on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh with two sureties of the like amount.

“The applicant (Irani) shall under no circumstances leave India without prior permission of the court concerned. She shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat, or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case. She shall provide her mobile number to the concerned police officer at Police Station Special Cell,”

Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma said, spelling out the conditions for bail.

Mumbai-based Irani has been in custody since her arrest on November 30, 2022 by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police.

While granting bail, the high court said there was nothing on the record about the criminal antecedents of Irani. It also took into consideration that she was a 52-year-old woman who was in custody since November last year. “This court considers that the allegations are required to be tested during the trial to meet the requisite 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 said.

The court said it is a settled proposition that at the stage of bail it cannot meticulously examine the evidence and conduct a mini trial.