NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court Friday dismissed an application by real estate tycoon Gopal Ansal, convicted in an evidence tampering case related to the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire trial, seeking an urgent hearing of his plea for renewal of passport for 10 years.
The HC said an early hearing was not possible in the matter. “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,” Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma said.
Gopal Ansal said in his application that he needs to travel abroad for business meetings for which he has to get his passport renewed urgently. Ansal’s passport expired on December 12, 2020. He prayed for advancing the hearing from September 4 to an earlier date. He has sought renewal of his passport for 10 years, contending it is the normal validity period of an ordinary passport.
Ansal said he undertakes that once his passport has been renewed he will seek permission of the high court before leaving the country. It earlier issued notices to the police and the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy, represented through senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, on Ansal’s passport renewal plea.
The high court had said the record showed that by its August 10, 2021 order the trial court had maintained it had no objection to the renewal of the petitioner’s passport as per rules and procedures which permit renewal of the travel document for one year for people facing trial or appellate proceedings.
The application was filed in a pending petition by Gopal Ansal in which he has sought setting aside of the conviction and sentence for tampering with evidence. He has already completed his jail term in the case which pertained to the fire incident of June 13, 1997.
Besides him, 84-year-old Sushil Ansal, his brother, their former employee P P Batra and former court staff Dinesh Chandra Sharma have also approached the high court seeking setting aside of their conviction and sentence.
AVUT has already filed a petition in the high court for enhancement of the punishment awarded to the convicts in the evidence tampering case. The sessions court had on July 19, 2022 modified the magisterial court’s order on sentence and ordered the release of Sushil and Gopal Ansal, Dinesh Chandra Sharma and P P Batra against the period they had already served in jail since November 8, 2021.