By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun/New Delhi, 28 Oct: Prominent Dehradun-based builder and industrialist Sudhir Windlass, who was lodged in jail for nearly twenty-two months, has finally been granted bail by the Supreme Court. Windlass, who was arrested on 21 December 2023 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with high-profile alleged land fraud cases, had finally approached the Supreme Court after his three bail pleas were continuously rejected by the Uttarakhand High Court in July 2025. The High Court, however, had granted bail to the co-accused in the case, Ravi Dayal, Mahavir Singh, and Yogesh Tyagi on 6 October 2025, which had raised hopes for Windlass’s release too.
It may be recalled that Windlass and his associates were arrested following investigations into allegations of fraudulently occupying government and private land in Rajpur. The investigations were launched after several FIRs were filed by the Dehradun Police in January 2022. The cases were handed over for further investigation to the CBI by the Uttarakhand Government. The CBI investigation claims that the accused had allegedly acquired land through fabricated documents, including registered sale deeds executed by impersonating deceased individuals and using employees as proxies.
It may also be recalled that the arrest of Windlass and his associates on 21 December 2023 had sent ripples across Uttarakhand’s political and business circles, since Windlass is a leading industrialist and builder. His attempts to secure bail were repeatedly turned down. His third bail plea was dismissed by a single bench of Justice Pankaj Purohit on 8 July 2025, after being heard on 23 June 2025. Earlier, the High Court had rejected his first bail plea on 4 March 2024. During these hearings, his counsel had also sought bail on medical grounds citing his age of 72 years and deteriorating health, which was also denied. The Supreme Court’s decision has provided the industrialist long-awaited relief after nearly two years in judicial custody.
It may be reminded here that, in addition to the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also conducting a parallel probe into the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and has already attached several of Windlass’s immovable properties. The CBI’s case, registered as FIR No RC0072023S0002 on 13 January 2023, accuses Windlass and his co-accused of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and use of forged documents under Sections 120-B, 420, 467, 468, 471, and 506 of the Indian Penal Code.
The case was pursued after Sanjay Singh had alleged that the accused fraudulently executed a sale deed for his family’s land by impersonating the rightful owners, one of whom was deceased.
