MUMBAI, Sept. 26 -- The Bombay High Court on Tuesday pulled up the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police for what it termed a prima facie abuse of the power of arrest in the case of Mamta Digvijay Singh, director of a construction firm accused in a corporate fraud of over Rs.1,000 crore. Calling the arrest "biased" and "contrary to established safeguards," the court granted Singh interim bail. A division bench of chief justice Shree Chandrashekhar and justice Gautam Ankhad said Singh's arrest on September 10 appeared unjustified, as she had last recorded her statement before investigators on June 18 and had since cooperated with the probe. "It is not explained what was the compelling reason that she was arrested about three months thereafter," the bench observed, adding that the action reflected a mechanical approach in violation of Supreme Court rulings that liberty cannot be curtailed casually. The judges were particularly critical of the EOW's claim that Singh was taken into custody to recover forged documents, noting that such a recovery was impossible once she was already in judicial custody. "The power to arrest comes with a duty to apply one's mind and cannot be used casually," the bench remarked, terming the investigation "most biased." Singh, along with co-director Mangesh Kadam, had been arrested in connection with a 2021 complaint filed by Rajat Jhunjhunwala. The FIR alleged that forged resolutions, fake MGT-7 forms and bogus shareholding certificates were created to fraudulently transfer his assets in Shajas Developers Pvt Ltd and its subsidiary JLS Realty Pvt Ltd, causing losses of over Rs.40 crore to the state exchequer. The total value of the disputed assets is pegged at more than Rs.1,000 crore. Singh, who was inducted as a non-executive director of JLS Realty in February 2021, moved the High Court alleging that her arrest was illegal and amounted to misuse of police powers. Senior advocate Aabad Ponda, representing Singh, cited Supreme Court rulings in the Arnab Goswami and Mohd. Zubair cases to argue that personal liberty must be safeguarded at every stage of an investigation. The bench also took note of the circumstances of Singh's arrest, pointing out that she was picked up on the evening she was hosting a birthday celebration for her disabled child. Emphasising constitutional protections, the court said, "Deprivation of liberty even for a single day is one day too many." Granting interim bail, the court ordered Singh's release on furnishing two sureties of Rs.50,000 each, while allowing the trial court to impose additional conditions. It clarified that its observations were limited to the bail stage and would not influence the outcome of the trial. The bench directed that a copy of its order be forwarded to the DGP, Maharashtra, highlighting its concerns over accountability in police conduct. EOW to file reply in two weeks....