Today, On 12th November, A Delhi court acquitted Jagdish Tytler and Abhishek Verma in the 2012 Chinese visa scam case. The prosecution had alleged that the accused forged a letter using the official letterhead of then Union Minister Ajay Maken to assist with visa approvals. After reviewing the evidence, the court found insufficient grounds to convict Tytler and Verma.
A Delhi court acquitted former Congress MP Jagdish Tytler and businessman Abhishek Verma in a case of cheating and forgery linked to a 2009 forged letter, allegedly used to secure visa extensions for Chinese telecom officials.
Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue court delivered the verdict.
According to the prosecution,
“In 2012, the accused persons had forged a letter on the letterhead of then Union Minister Ajay Maken.”
This letter, reportedly addressed to then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, aimed to create the impression that visa regulations for Chinese officials were set to be relaxed.
The context behind this alleged forgery traces back to a 2009 directive from India’s Ministry of Home Affairs, requiring all foreign nationals on business visas to exit India upon their visa expiration or by October 2009.
In an attempt to bypass this directive, officials of a Chinese telecom company allegedly turned to Verma for assistance.
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The prosecution further claimed that the forged letter was used by Verma and Tytler to assure the Chinese officials that visa issues were being resolved with the Central government, and that the letter was also allegedly used to solicit illegal gratification from them. Following a complaint by Ajay Maken, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took up the investigation.
The court framed charges under Sections 420 (cheating), 471 (fraudulent use of a forged document), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as provisions under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
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