Three persons, including two officials of Delhi's regional passport office, have been sent to two years in jail by a Delhi court for issuing a forged passport to a woman to help her travel abroad on fake identity a decade ago.
Special CBI Judge RP Pandey handed down the jail term to two passport officials, Harbhajan Yadav and Ram Chander, for abusing their official position in getting issued the additional passport booklet on the basis of false and forged documents, along with private person Anil Dhawan, who had filled up the application form. The court, however, acquitted a superintendent of Regional Passport Office (RPO), saying his role was doubtful. The woman who attempted to travel on the fake passport was declared proclaimed offender (PO) by the court. The court held Yadav and Chander, who were working as clerks at RPO, Delhi, and private person Dhawan guilty under the provisions of the IPC, Prevention of Corruption Act and the Passport Act.
"In view of findings, I hold accused Harbhajan Yadav, Ram Chander and Anil Dhawan guilty of offences punishable under various sections of IPC, Prevention of Corruption Act and Passport Act. They are convicted accordingly," the judge said. "The issuance of fraudulent passport in the name of a fictitious person causes loss of reputation to the government and wrongful gain to the person who obtains such passport on which he/she is capable to travel abroad. "Therefore, such a conduct of accused public servant, due to which a passport has been issued to a person, who is otherwise not entitled to it, falls within the definition of 'criminal misconduct'," the judge said.
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