Delhi High Court quashes assault case against Bina Modi, Lalit Bhasin after Samir Modi withdraws complaint

The Delhi High Court on Monday quashed the assault case filed by former Executive Director of Godfrey Phillips India, Samir Modi against his mother Bina Modi, advocate Lalit Bhasin and Bina Modi's personal security, Surendra Prasad..Justice Saurabh Banerjee passed the order after he was informed that disputes between the parties have now been settled and Samir Modi has withdrawn his complaint.Lalit Bhasin, Bina Modi and Surendra Prasad had earlier moved the High Court challenging trial court proceedings in the case filed against them. The Court had stayed the proceedings in March. .Today, Bina Modi, Samir Modi and Lalit Bhasin joined the High Court hearing by video conference.The Court noted that there was no settlement deed and no amount was mentioned as the basis for a compromise."No amount is mentioned. There is no settlement deed. Mr Modi you are the complainant. Have you compromised?" Justice Saurabh Banerjee asked.Samir Modi confirmed that he has now withdrawn his complaint."I have withdrawn, sir," he said. In view of this, the Court proceeded to quash the criminal proceedings against his mother, Bina Modi and Advocate Lalit Bhasin..Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayyar appeared today for Bina Modi. .Sami Modi is the son of Bina Modi. The family has been engaged in a legal battle over the control of their business empire. Samir Modi has accused his mother of mismanaging the family trust and excluding him from key decisions. Bina Modi has refuted these allegations..The assault case stemmed from a complaint filed by Samir Modi over an incident that took place on May 30, 2024, at the Jasola office of Godfrey Phillips India. Bhasin also attended the meeting.According to the complaint, Samir Modi was attempting to attend a board meeting when he was allegedly stopped by his mother’s personal security officer, Surendra Prasad, who claimed to be acting on her instructions.Modi alleged that he was physically assaulted during the confrontation, resulting in a fractured finger that required surgical intervention. The Delhi Police initially filed a chargesheet in March 2025, naming only the security officer as an accused, stating that there was insufficient evidence against Bina Modi and Bhasin. However, Samir Modi challenged this through a protest petition, seeking their inclusion in the case. In February 2026, a trial court took cognisance of the matter and held that there was sufficient prima facie material suggesting possible involvement or a “meeting of minds” among the accused. It emphasised that such material warranted a trial, leading to the issuance of a summons for further proceedings..Before the High Court, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi had earlier appeared for Bina Modi and argued that it was a case of complete perversity. He argued that Bina Modi and Lalit Bhasin were not part of the alleged scuffle, and that they had, in fact, diffused the situation by asking Samir Modi to come in for the meeting. Rohatgi added that Samir Modi sat in the meeting for nearly two hours and then went and made a complaint about the alleged assault.