New Delhi:- A special court today reserved its judgement for next month in a fake passport case allegedly involving gangster Chhota Rajan and three others.
Special Judge Virender Kumar Goyal fixed the case for pronouncement of verdict on April 12.
Besides Rajan, the court has framed charges and put on trial three retired public servants — Jayashree Dattatray Rahate, Deepak Natvarlal Shah and Lalitha Lakshmanan.
The charges were framed against Rajan for allegedly procuring a fake passport in the name of Mohan Kumar with the help of three government officials, also accused in the case.
Lakshmanan had approached the high court to transfer to Bengaluru her trial in the case but the petition was rejected on January 9 on the ground that a district court here could also hear the matter.
During pendency of the plea, the high court had ordered a stay on pronouncement of verdict in the case by trial court.
However, the high court later rejected the plea.
The four accused have been charged for alleged offences under sections 420 (cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 467(forgery of valuable security or will), 419(cheating by impersonation) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and section 12 (offences and penalties) of the Passport Act.
Besides this, the court framed charge against the retired public servants under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
While Rajan is lodged in Tihar Jail here, the other three accused are out on bail.
Deported after being on the run for 27 years, the 55-year old gangster, once a close aide of fugitive terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, was brought to India to face trial in over 70 cases of murder, extortion and drug smuggling in Delhi and Mumbai.
Rajan was deported to India after his arrest in Bali in October 2015.
PTI
