New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday rejected the plea of real-estate mogul Gopal Ansal, convicted in an evidence tampering case related to the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire tragedy trial, seeking expedited hearing on his passport renewal.
The court also said that an earlier date is not feasible due to its existing workload.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma, while dismissing the early hearing of the application, rescheduled the matter for September 4.
In his application, Gopal Ansal (75) had stated the necessity to renew his passport urgently for international business meetings.His passport had lapsed on December 12, 2020. Ansal’s request aimed to advance the hearing date from September 4 to an earlier date.
He has sought a 10-year renewal for his passport, citing the standard validity period for an ordinary passport. Ansal pledged to obtain permission from the high court before leaving the country once his passport was renewed.
Previously, the high court had issued notices to both the police and the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT), represented by senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, regarding Ansal’s passport renewal plea.
According to the high court, records indicated that the trial court’s August 2021 order had no objections to renewing the petitioner’s passport in accordance with regulations.
This application was submitted within an ongoing petition by Gopal Ansal, wherein he sought to overturn his conviction and sentence for evidence tampering.
Despite completing his jail term related to the June 13, 1997 fire tragedy, Ansal persists in seeking the annulment of his conviction.
–IANS