‘Assault’ case on GPI executive director Samir Modi: Why Delhi court summoned his mother, industrialist Bina Modi

A chargesheet was filed by the Delhi Police in this case on March 1, 2025, naming Prasad as an accused with sufficient prima facie material. The chargesheet, however, had not named Bina and Lalit. After this, Samir had filed a protest petition seeking cognizance against them.

In the order dated February 10, Judicial Magistrate, First Class, (JMFC) Aneeza Bishnoi of Saket Court said, “It is settled principle of criminal jurisprudence that while acting u/s 210 BNSS (cognizance of offences by magistrates), the court takes cognizance of the offence and not the accused. Hence, the court is not constrained by the opinion of the Investigating Officer as reflected in the chargesheet.”

“Also this court is of the considered opinion that the sole statement of an accused that other two accused persons were not involved would not in itself give power to the Investigating Officer to [absolve] the other accused persons of the allegations imparted upon them for commission of the said offence,” JMFC Bishnoi added.

“In view of the same, the court is of the view that perusal of the chargesheet, statements recorded during investigation and material placed on record reveals that although accused no. 2 and accused no. 3 have been in column no. 12 of the chargesheet, there exists sufficient materials indicating their involvement in the alleged offence,” said the court.

In June 2024, Samir had sought security cover from the Delhi Police citing a “threat to his family members” from his mother. He had sent a letter to the Sarita Vihar SHO.

On June 21, a different court in Saket had directed the preservation of the CCTV footage of the alleged incident.

The Modi family saga

Following the death of family patriarch K K Modi in 2019, Samir and his mother got into a legal dispute over distribution of the Rs 11,000-crore inheritance. Samir had accused Bina of allegedly not distributing funds as stipulated in a trust deed executed by his father.

Then, Ruchir Modi, son of former IPL chairman Lalit Modi and Bina’s grandson, had moved an application before the Delhi High Court in an existing suit seeking liquidation of the family’s trust fund and removing Bina as its managing trustee.

His application had specifically sought that Bina be restrained from voting at the cigarette maker’s AGM on behalf of the family trust and instead, an administrator be appointed who can vote on behalf of the trust.

In September 2024, the HC dismissed the application.

Although the court refused to remove Bina as the managing trustee of the trust, Justice Navin Chawla had stipulated that she shall henceforth file an affidavit on a half-yearly basis, disclosing all remuneration and other benefits received by her in her position as the managing director of Godfrey Philips.

K K Modi had created a trust involving his family members and children. As per the trust deed, the trust was meant to ensure that he takes care of the family-controlled businesses, followed by his wife upon his demise, and his children after that.

If the children disagreed, the businesses were to be sold off and the trust dissolved. Following his demise in November 2019, Bina took charge of the trust as the managing trustee and the managing director of Godfrey Philips. The trust holds 44 per cent shares in Godfrey Philips.