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.
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 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. Ataian allegedly procured a forged birth certificate in his name, according to the prosecution. 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…. 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.
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 While granting bail. Ataian is also accused in the Rs 148.89 crore money laundering case related to the Torres Jewellery investment fraud case. Ataian had been in custody since Feb 19, 2025.
“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. 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. The judge considered the material collected during investigation, the period of custody, and the nature of the allegations.