Mumbai: A special court on Thursday granted bail to 48-year-old Ukrainian citizen and actor Armen Garun Ataian, who was arrested in connection with allegations that a forged birth certificate was procured and used to support a claim of birth in India and Indian citizenship.While granting bail, the court noted the investigation material indicated that Ataian’s parents had resided in Mumbai between 1975 and 1978, and that Ataian was born in 1976, and the statements of witnesses recorded during the investigation also lend support to the circumstance that the applicant’s place of birth may be Mumbai.“Thus, there is some material in the chargesheet supporting the applicant’s claim regarding his place of birth, though the same is yet to be conclusively established by verification of the relevant official records,” Special Judge Satyanarayan R Navander said. Ataian is also accused in the Rs 148.89 crore money laundering case related to the Torres Jewellery investment fraud case.The judge considered the material collected during investigation, the period of custody, and the nature of the allegations. Ataian had been in custody since Feb 19, 2025.The court said the question of genuineness of the birth certificate and Ataian’s claim of birth in India would require examination during investigation and trial.At the same time, the court observed, “The mere fact that the applicant is a foreign national cannot, by itself, be a ground to deny him bail…. The apprehension regarding his availability during investigation and trial can be addressed by imposing appropriate and stringent conditions, particularly by directing him to surrender his passport and to regularly report to the concerned police station,” the judge said.According to the prosecution, Ataian allegedly procured a forged birth certificate in his name. Cops at the Bhoiwada Police Station lodged the FIR after the alleged forgery was detected. The prosecution alleged that though Ataian holds a Ukrainian passport, documents were allegedly procured to establish a claim of Indian citizenship.Ataian’s lawyer Akram Kapoor argued that he was innocent, was born in Mumbai, and had been residing in India for several years. The defence submitted that there was no intention to forge documents or cheat anyone, and that custodial interrogation was no longer required.The prosecution opposed the plea and submitted that Ataian was a foreign national and that the circumstances in which documents were allegedly procured remained suspicious. The prosecution also said the actual place of birth was still under investigation.The court ordered Ataian to deposit the original passport with the investigating officer before release, attend Bhoiwada Police Station on the first and third Monday of every month between 10 am and 1 pm till the end of Dec 2026, cooperate with the investigation, and not leave India without prior permission of the jurisdictional court.The court also directed Ataian not to tamper with evidence or influence witnesses, to provide current residential address and contact details to the investigating officer, and to attend trial proceedings regularly unless exempted.
