Rakesh Bhasin
Email: rakesh.bhasin@steelandshamash.co.uk
Rakesh Bhasin is a Partner, and a senior solicitor within the Criminal Department. He qualified as a solicitor in 1996, and joined Steel and Shamash in 2004.
He has a great deal of experience dealing with clients charged with serious violence such as Murder and Manslaughter, especially where there are issues concerning mental health.
He is also very experienced in dealing with other serious and complex allegations often involving large scale conspiracies, whether relating to offences of Armed Robbery, Deception, Drugs offences, Kidnapping, Sexual offences and Extradition matters.
Rakesh has been awarded Higher Rights of Audience (Criminal) by the Law Society, enabling him to practice as an advocate at all levels of Criminal Courts.
Membership
- Member of the London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association (LCCSA)
- Member of the Solicitors Association of Higher Court Advocates (SAHCA)
Notable cases include:
R -v- G (2011) - Representing 1 out of 4 Defendants charged with Murder. Allegation centres on gang rivalry which led to a confrontation outside a school in West Norwood, South London where one victim was stabbed to death, and another was also attacked.
R -v- C (2010/11) - Former MP charged with False accounting arising out of the MP's expenses scandal
R -v- M (2010/11) - Former MP charged with False accounting arising out of the MP's expenses scandal
R -v- D (2010/11) - Former MP charged with False accounting arising out of the MP's expenses scandal
R -v- H (2011) - Representing a Defendant extradited to England to face an allegation of Perverting the Course of Justice. Case relates to DVD's '7/7 the Ripple effect' sent to the Judge and Jury at Kingston Crown Court during the course of a trial of three Defendants alledged to have been involved in the 7/7 bombing in London
R -v- H (2010) - Representing two brothers involved in allegation of Conspiracy to Supply Class A drugs - involved undercover police operation targeting supply of drugs on streets of South London
R -v- J (2010/11) - Represented Defendant nicknamed 'The Tome Raider' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-10696907 in connection with the Theft of Rare/antique books from RHS Library, and thereafter in confiscation proceedings
R -v- M (2010) - Represented a 14 year old charged with 2 counts of Murder and 3 counts of Attempted Murder. Allegation was of a jilted schoolboy who set fire to his girlfriends house killing her and her sister. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1293357/Schoolboy-15-jailed-murdering-ex-girlfriend-older-sister-house-fire
R -v- B (2010) - Defendant charged with Possession of a large number of False ID documents, and Conspiracy to Cheat. Allegation was that he was part of an organised criminal network who used fake ID documents to gain entry to casino's in order to cheat. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11848949
R -v- O (2010) - Represented a Defendant charged alongside 2 others with Conspiracy to Supply Class A drugs. Lengthy police surveillance operation into suspected drug factory in Brixton, South London. Defandant acquitted after trial.
R -v- T (2010) - Represented a Defendant alledged to have engaged in sexual activity with a mentally disordered person (impeding choice). Rarely prosecuted and very specific offence in the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The case raised issues concerning nature of consent, human rights of the alledged victim, and abuse of process
R -v- S (2010) - Represented a Defendant charged with possession with intent - firearms and drugs
R -v- A (2010) - Allegations of Kidnapping and False Imprisonment, Prosecution alleged this was a drug deal gone wrong leading to the victim being kidnapped held against his will and tortured over a two day period. Prosecution eventually accept a plea to ABH
R -v- O (2010) - Represented a Defendant alledged to have funded Terrorism overseas. Allegation involved sending money on four occasions to individuals in Azerbaijan, who were said to be involved in terrorist activities connected to the Chechen Rebels. Involved questions over the admissibility and reliability of Court proceedings/Judgements from other Jurisdictions - Azerbaijan, and insight into the plight of Chechens in the Caucasus. Defendant acquitted following trial
R -v- E (2009) - Allegation of False imprisonment and (multiple) Rapes. Defendant alledged to have held victim against her will over a preiod of a day, during which time he raped her
R -v- O (2009) - Represented (as solicitor and Junior Counsel) a Defendant charged in a large scale Conspiracy to Supply Drugs operating out of a tyre shop in Brixton. Investigation by SOCA (Middle Market Team) involved lengthy surveillance operation including internal probe evidence http://cms.met.police.uk/news/convictions/tyre_shop_drug_dealers_jailed
R -v- W (2009) - Allegation of sexual assault where neither party could remember how they ended up in bed together. Acquitted after trial
R -v- N (2008/9) - Represented (as solicitor and Junior Counsel) Defendant charged with Conspiracy to Supply Drugs Class A, B and C. Lengthy surveillance operation lead to arrests of four Defendants. Allegation was that they were the hub of a large drug trafficking enterprise in South London. Thereafter represented him through confiscation proceedings. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23527621-drugs-gang-boss-jailed-for-18-years.do