Bombay HC directs police not to take coercive action against actor Vikram Gokhale till next hearing

In March, a criminal offence was registered against Gokhale (79) and two others, Jayant Mhalgi and his wife Sujata.

In an interim relief to Vikram Gokhale, the Bombay High Court directed Wednesday the Pune Police not to take any coercive action against the 79-year-old actor for two weeks, until the next hearing, in connection with an alleged cheating and fraud case over a 25-year-old land development project at Mulshi in Pune.

Gokhale had moved the high court on October 7 after the Pune sessions court on September 25 had rejected his anticipatory bail plea, but granted him protection from arrest till October 17 so that he could approach the HC.

A single-judge bench of Justice Bharati H Dangre on Wednesday heard actor’s pre-arrest bail plea, filed through senior counsel Shirish Gupte and advocate Karansingh Rajput.

In March, a criminal offence was registered against Gokhale (79) and two others, Jayant Mhalgi and his wife Sujata. Jayant is the son of late MP Rambhau Mhalgi. The case pertains to Project Girivan of a company, Sujata Farms, floated by Mhalgi and Sujata.

The complainants in the case have alleged they were cheated because the land plots they were given actual possession of were different and in many cases smaller, than the ones purchased by them via sale deeds.

On Wednesday, Gupte submitted that the actor had absolutely no concern with the company which had floated the project and the only limited role he was attributed is a brand ambassador of the project of the company and, therefore, the charges levelled against him were “arbitrary and to malign him”.

The court noted that “no coercive action be taken against applicant till next hearing” and posted the matter for hearing on October 28.

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