Court seizes Tytler’s passport, directs CBI to take action

New Delhi, May 23 (IANS): A court here on Tuesday seized the passport of Congress leader Jagdish Tytler and directed the CBI to take action against him for giving false information that no criminal case is pending against him.

Special Judge Bharat Parashar gave Tytler’s passport to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), asking the probe agency to take appropriate action as he gave wrong information to the passport office while seeking renewal of his passport.

While renewing the passport, Tytler submitted false information that “no criminal case is pending against him”.

However, Tytler’s counsel told court it was a bona fide mistake. He said the wrong information was furnished by his clerk who checked the wrong box on the form by mistake.

CBI officials told the court that action should be initiated because rules have been violated as the passport was renewed without clearance from court.

The court expressed its opinion that a First Information Report (FIR) should be registered against Tytler for furnishing false information and renewing the passport without getting clearance but did not pass any order.

The court was hearing Tytler’s plea seeking to travel abroad from May 25 to June 2.

The case was filed on a complaint of the then Minister of State for Home Ajay Maken, that a forged letter on his letterhead was written to the Prime Minister by businessman Abhishek Verma seeking easing of business visa norms in 2009.

Tytler and Verma were chargesheeted under the IPC in the case for the offence of attempting to cheat and under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The CBI has alleged that Tytler had “actively connived” with Verma to cheat a Chinese telecom firm and the Congress leader had first shown a “fake and forged” letter to the company’s officials, claiming it was written by Maken to the Prime Minister.