A Delhi court has formally framed criminal charges against businessman Sushil Ansal in a prosecution arising from alleged misdeclaration and suppression of material facts under the Passports Act, 1967. The matter has now been set down for recording of prosecution evidence.
Chief Judicial Magistrate Mridul Gupta of Patiala House Courts recently framed charges against Ansal for offences punishable under Sections 420 (cheating), 177 (furnishing false information to a public servant), and 181 (false statement on oath) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, along with Section 12 of the Passports Act, which criminalises the furnishing of false information or suppression of material particulars in passport applications.
The Court directed that prosecution evidence be recorded on April 25 and issued summons to two prosecution witnesses. Ansal appeared before the Court through video conferencing and contested the allegations, asserting his innocence.
The prosecution case centres on allegations that Ansal deliberately concealed his criminal conviction and the pendency of multiple criminal proceedings while applying for renewal of his passport in 2013 and again in 2018. It has been alleged that such concealment and misrepresentation induced the passport authorities to issue travel documents which, in the ordinary course of law, would not have been granted.
The trial court, while framing charges, noted that there was sufficient prima facie material to proceed against the accused. In an earlier order dated November 28, the Court recorded that Ansal had consciously omitted details of criminal cases pending against him, as well as his conviction, in the sworn affidavit accompanying his 2013 passport application. The Court further observed that similar suppression was evident in the undertaking submitted with the passport application in 2018.
The Court held that the alleged misdeclarations amounted to inducement by misrepresentation, satisfying the essential ingredients of cheating under Section 420 IPC.
It observed that, but for the concealment of material facts, compounded by what it described as deficient police verification reports, the Regional Passport Office would not have issued passports to Ansal. The Court found that the conduct attributed to the accused disclosed wrongful gain to himself and corresponding wrongful loss to the public authority.
The trial court further concluded that offences under Sections 177 and 181 IPC were prima facie attracted, as the accused was legally bound to disclose true and complete information to a public servant and had allegedly filed false affidavits before a statutory authority. However, the Court clarified that the ingredients of Sections 192 and 197 IPC, relating to fabrication of false evidence, were not made out on the facts of the present case.
Ansal has challenged the order framing charges before the Sessions Court. The appellate court has issued notice on his revision petition and listed the matter for hearing on February 20.
The FIR in the case was registered by the Delhi Police Crime Branch pursuant to directions issued by the Delhi High Court in a petition filed by the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) through its General Secretary. During proceedings before the High Court, it had emerged that Ansal had allegedly procured passports on multiple occasions by submitting applications containing false declarations or by suppressing material information relating to his criminal antecedents.
Following completion of the investigation, a chargesheet was filed against Ansal for offences under Sections 177 and 181 IPC and Section 12 of the Passports Act. The trial court took cognisance of these offences on February 27, 2021, and summoned the accused.
Sushil Ansal, along with other accused, was previously convicted in connection with the Uphaar Cinema fire tragedy, which occurred on June 13, 1997, during the screening of the film Border. The incident resulted in the death of 59 persons and remains one of the most significant cases in India concerning corporate criminal liability and victim rights.
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