AHMEDABAD: A city sessions court on Tuesday denied the regular bail request of Raman Patel, the owner of Popular Builders, in a land-grabbing case filed by the CID (crime) last year. The court refused bail primarily due to Patel’s prior convictions, including a similar case in which he was found guilty of using forged documents to seize two plots.
Patel and his brother Dashrath were named as witnesses in a 2010 CBI chargesheet related to the controversial Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case. Over the last five years, Patel has faced multiple allegations of land grabbing linked to forged documentation concerning transactions from decades ago. The current case involves a transaction allegedly dating back to 1986 in Makarba village.
In his bail application, Patel claimed his innocence, asserting that he was being scapegoated while the true offenders remained unpunished.
In opposition, public prosecutor Sudhir Brahmbhatt informed the court that Patel’s request to become an approver had already been rejected by a trial court, along with references to other land-grabbing complaints against him.
After the proceedings, additional sessions judge J I Patel referenced a previous Supreme Court order related to Patel’s bail application, which noted concerns over potential evidence tampering. The judge stated, “Given the overall facts and circumstances, I believe this is not an appropriate case for the court to exercise its discretion in favor of granting bail to the applicant.”
