The Hindu : Front Page : Need to expedite trial in passport forgery cases

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 05, 2006

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Front Page

Need to expedite trial in passport forgery cases

R. Krishnamoorthy

"Undue delay" in charge sheeting criminals

TIRUCHI: Even as international air traffic to and from Tiruchi airport is poised for a significant growth in the coming years, the "undue delay" in charge sheeting criminals wanted in passport forgery cases is an area crying for attention.

Though immigration authorities have booked over 100 such cases involving at least three accused - the passenger, middleman and travel agent - in each case, since 2001, delay in taking the cases to the logical end leaves much to be desired, enquiries reveal.

By the time permission is granted after the cases traverse through several lanes of government machinery and come back to the enforcement level for chargesheeting the criminals, enormous time will be lost when most of the cases get qualified for the treatment of `long-pending case: action dropped.'

However, while there have been instances of abettors of the crime jumping bail, some gullible women passengers, who are caught while attempting to go abroad using the ECNR (Emigration Check Not Required) provision, undergo prolonged suffering. Precious little is done to nab abettors of the crime - middlemen and `bogus' travel agencies.

They might have been forced to move abroad due to economic reasons but most of the passengers, detained under the ECNR-related cases, cool their heels in prison, and their prolonged suffering accentuates their plight.

In Coimbatore and Chennai, the average duration of 30-day detention, from the remand period of 15 days to the time taken to obtain bail is considered a punishment for such passengers. After the cases are referred directly to the Assistant Public Prosecutor, charge sheets are filed and fine is collected from the accused, according to sources.

A remedy, suggest legal experts, is empowerment of the Passport Officer concerned to handle cases pertaining to ECNR, and imposition of compounding fine. Those involved in other passport forgery cases must be dealt with strictly with the introduction of a similar `quick delivery' mechanism.

Issue of non-bailable warrants notwithstanding, absconding offenders do not find any difficulty in conniving with travel agencies shorn of International Air Transport Association approval, obtaining fresh passports with forged addresses, and flying abroad from other airports in the country, they point out.

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