Delhi High Court Denies Gopal Ansal’s Urgent Passport Renewal Plea; Hearing Set for September
The Delhi High Court has rejected a request by real estate tycoon Gopal Ansal to expedite the renewal of his passport for 10 years. Ansal, who was convicted in a case related to tampering with evidence during the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire trial, had sought an urgent hearing for his passport renewal plea. However, the court stated that it could not accommodate an early date due to its existing workload.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma announced, I consider that the board (workload) does not permit an early date. The application is dismissed. List on September 4, the date already fixed in the matter.
Gopal Ansal’s passport expired on December 12, 2020, and he claimed that he needed to travel abroad for business meetings. He argued that his passport should be renewed urgently for a period of 10 years, as it is the normal validity period for an ordinary passport. Ansal assured the court that he would seek permission from the high court before leaving the country once his passport was renewed.
Previously, the high court had issued notices to the police and the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) regarding Ansal’s passport renewal plea. The court’s record showed that the trial court had no objection to the renewal of Ansal’s passport as per the rules and procedures which permit renewal for one year for individuals facing trial or appellate proceedings.
Ansal’s application was filed as part of an ongoing petition seeking the setting aside of his conviction and sentence for evidence tampering. He has already served his jail term in connection with the fire incident that occurred on June 13, 1997. Similarly, his brother Sushil Ansal, former employee P P Batra, and former court staff Dinesh Chandra Sharma have also approached the high court to challenge their conviction and sentence.
The AVUT has separately filed a petition in the high court seeking an enhancement of the punishment imposed on the convicts in the evidence tampering case. On July 19, 2022, the sessions court modified the magisterial court’s sentence order and released Sushil Ansal, Gopal Ansal, Dinesh Chandra Sharma, and P P Batra, taking into account the period they had already spent in jail since November 8, 2021.
The Delhi High Court’s dismissal of Gopal Ansal’s urgent passport renewal plea means that he will have to wait until the scheduled hearing on September 4, 2022. Only then will a decision be made regarding the renewal of his passport.
