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Synopsis

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice in real estate tycoon Gopal Ansal’s plea seeking permission to travel to Bangkok. Ansal has been convicted in an evidence tampering case related to the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire incident.

Ansal has sought permission to travel to Bangkok from September 28 to October 3, 2023, as per his undertaking before the court earlier. 

Senior Advocate Dayan Krishnan on behalf of the State submitted that he wants to file response to Ansal's application.

Senior Advocate N. Hariharan appearing for Ansal submitted that the petitioner has to travel on September 28, and filing of the response will make it infructuous.

The bench of Justice Jyoti Singh noted, “This is an application by the petitioner seeking permission to travel to Bangkok commencing from September 28 to October 3. Notice is accepted on behalf of the state”.

However, after some arguments and after Hariharan took instructions from the petitioner, the court was apprised that the petitioner would reschedule his visit to Bangkok.

The senior counsel also apprised the court that an additional affidavit would be filed providing the rescheduled itinerary in the present plea.

Accordingly, the court posted the matter for further consideration on October 12, 2023.

Notably, on September 4, the High Court had allowed renewal of Ansal's passport for 1 year. 

“Let the passport of Gopal Ansal be renewed with the aforementioned office memorandum for a period of 1 year”, the bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma had ordered.

Gopal Ansal, in his application, stated that he needed to travel abroad for business meetings for which he had to get his passport renewed urgently. Ansal’s passport expired on December 12, 2020. He stated that he would undertake that once his passport is renewed he would seek permission of the high court before leaving the country.

The present 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, 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. The same is listed for final hearing on December 4, 2023 before the same bench. 

AVUT has already filed a petition in the high court for enhancement of the punishment awarded to the convicts in the evidence tampering case. It is to be noted that 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.

Case Title: Gopal Ansal v. State of NCT of Delhi & Anr.