Deputy Registrar of NCLT Mumbai Caught in CBI Bribery Net
Pranav B Prem
In a serious development that has cast a shadow over the judicial integrity of tribunal proceedings, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on May 29, 2025, arrested the Deputy Registrar of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai Bench, and another private individual in connection with a bribery case. The arrests were made for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹3 lakh from a litigant, with the promise of securing a favourable outcome in a case pending before the Tribunal.
According to the CBI’s official press release, a complaint was received from a hotel owner who had been involved in a longstanding ownership dispute with his brothers. The complainant had filed a petition before Court No. IV of the NCLT, Mumbai, on November 2, 2020. The matter had been pending for nearly five years without resolution.
As per the CBI’s preliminary findings, on May 11, 2025, the Deputy Registrar approached the complainant and demanded ₹3.5 lakh in exchange for exercising influence within the NCLT to obtain a favourable decision in the ongoing dispute. After further discussion, the accused Deputy Registrar allegedly settled on accepting ₹3 lakh as the final amount.
The CBI subsequently registered a case on May 14, 2025, and began investigating the matter. Acting on the complaint, the agency laid a trap operation on May 29. During this operation, one of the accused—described as a private person—was caught red-handed while receiving the bribe amount from the complainant on behalf of the Deputy Registrar. The cash involved included ₹1 lakh in genuine currency and ₹2 lakh in dummy notes that had been prepared for evidentiary purposes in the trap procedure. Following this, the CBI arrested the Deputy Registrar as well, based on his direct role in the conspiracy and demand for the bribe. The press release confirmed that both individuals were apprehended and taken into custody for further proceedings.
Search operations were also carried out at various locations associated with the accused, including premises in Mumbai and Lucknow, in an effort to uncover additional evidence and identify other potential individuals who might be linked to the offence. Both arrested individuals were produced before the competent court in Mumbai on May 29, 2025. The CBI has stated that the investigation is ongoing.
[Read/Download Press Release]
