Mumbai, Jun 13 (PTI) A special court on Friday granted bail to the deputy registrar of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Mumbai bench in a bribery case.

Deputy registrar Charan Pratap Singh, along with another accused, was arrested last month.

Singh's bail plea was allowed by special CBI judge AV Kharkar. The detailed order was not available yet.

The accused, through his lawyer Shalabh Saxena, sought bail saying there is no direct evidence against him.

The CBI on May 14 registered the case against Singh on the complaint of a hotel owner who was having an ownership dispute with his brothers.

The matter pertaining to the ownership dispute was filed before the NCLT Mumbai Court number IV on November 2, 2020, and has since been pending.

It has been alleged that on May 11, Singh demanded Rs 3.50 lakh from the complainant for helping him in the matter by using his contacts in NCLT, Mumbai, and getting the matter settled in his favour. Later, the accused agreed to accept Rs 3 lakh as bribe.

In a trap, a man was caught red-handed while accepting the amount on behalf of Singh, as per the CBI. PTI AVI BNM

Bribery allegation prompts CBI probe and provisional release of an NCLT registry official after an alleged trap operation. A registry official at the NCLT Mumbai bench was investigated by the CBI after a complainant alleged the official demanded payment to influence an ownership dispute pending before the tribunal; an intermediary was caught accepting cash in a trap. The accused were arrested, contested the existence of direct evidence through counsel, and a special court subsequently permitted release on bail while the CBI inquiry and underlying NCLT litigation continue.