NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Tuesday acquitted former Congress MP Jagdish Tytler and businessman Abhishek Verma in a cheating and forgery case linked to a 2009 forged letter aimed at securing visa extensions for Chinese telecom officials.
Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Court ruled in favor of the duo, citing insufficient evidence to support the prosecution’s allegations.
The case, filed in 2012, centered on a letter allegedly forged on the official letterhead of then Minister Ajay Maken.
According to the prosecution, the letter was addressed to then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to create a misleading impression that visa rules for Chinese officials were being eased. At the time, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs had issued a directive mandating that all foreign nationals on business visas either leave the country upon visa expiry or by October 2009.
As per the charges, officials from a Chinese telecom company, seeking ways to bypass these stringent visa restrictions, reportedly approached Verma. The prosecution claimed that Verma, with Tytler, used the forged letter to reassure Chinese that visa extensions were underway, to gain financial benefits.
Also in court
ED response sought on Kejriwal’s plea
The Delhi HC on Tuesday sought response of the ED on a plea by AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal challenging summons issued to him on the agency’s complaint in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise scam. refused to stay the trial in the criminal case and said the trial court’s order, which has been challenged by Kejriwal, is two months old and not a fresh order.
Acquitted person allowed for SI post
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