Court raps accused over bail fiasco

Man who stood surety for alleged cheat had died years ago

A man facing prosecution in a more than threedecade old case had been unaware that the man who stood surety for him had died while he was out on bail, found a special CBI court. The court however, did not impose any fine on him and allowed a new surety for him.

The court of special CBI judge Sanjeev Aggarwal said that it was hard to believe that the accused was not aware of the death of his surety. “I am accepting the submission of Tiwari’s counsel with a pinch of salt. This court is refraining from imposing exemplary costs upon the accused for concealing the death of his surety, which should have been brought to the notice of the court at the earliest,” the court noted in its order. The court accepted the new bail plea of Tiwari and posted the matter for May 22.

Vineet Tiwari, a resident of Delhi, was on bail in connection with a cheating case lodged against him and others by the CBI for allegedly attempting to sell a land belonging to the Bombay Port Trust for `2.27 crore in 1982 by forging letters of the then joint secretary of ministry of shipping and transport. Tiwari was arrested along with others, but was later granted bail by the court. H.L. Soin, who stood surety for

The CBI sought cancellation of the accused’s bail, saying he was misleading the court by concealing the news of surety’s death

Tiwari, died in 2000. But the court was not told about the death of the surety by the accused and his counsel. The CBI raised this point seeking cancellation of Tiwari’s bail, saying he was misleading the court by concealing the fact. “Soin died in 2000. It has been more than 17 years but the accused did not tell this before the court. His bail should be cancelled,” the prosecution argued. The court will hear argument on CBI’s move on the next date of hearing.

The court had on October 13, 2008 framed charges of cheating, forgery, conspiracy and using forged documents as genuine under various provisions of the IPC against Tiwari and L K Kaul, a resident of Delhi, in the case. The court had said it was prima facie evident that Kaul and Tiwari had entered into criminal conspiracy with accused approver A.S. Master, resident of Thane in Maharashtra, to prepare false documents by forging the signatures of then joint secretary of the ministry on the letter of allotment of Bombay Port Trust land at Colaba.