Punjab & Haryana High Court Upholds Conviction Of 74-Yr-Old In 2000 Visa Fraud Case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has upheld the conviction of a 74 years old lady in 24 years old immigration fraud case, observing that "Courts must do as much as is possible to nip this evil in the bud and undue sympathy must not be shown."Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi said, “Such offences of attempted illegal immigration are on the rise. Life savings are used up or loans availed to pay agents both legal and illegal in order to fulfill ones desired for greener pastures abroad. The person is usually cheated by the agent as he is not sent abroad after receipt of the promised amount by the agent. If he manages to go abroad, then his journey is fraught with danger from agents/people smugglers who physically abuse the prospective immigrant enroute to his destination and even extort more money from him during the course of his journey.”The Court further said that in the unlikely event of him reaching his destination, "there is the fear of deportation along with the added responsibility of sending money back home to pay off loans availed to send him abroad." Therefore, Courts must do as much as is possible to nip this evil in the bud and undue sympathy must not be shown, it added.Considering, the FIR was registered 24 and a half years ago and the accused is of the age of approximately 74 years, the Court modified the sentence to 1 year of simple imprisonment.The Court was hearing an appeal filed against conviction order passed in 2008. According to prosecution in 1999 Charanjit Kaur along with a co-accused dishonestly induced Jagjit Singh and Pritpal Singh to part with the amount of Rs. 15 lakh on the pretext of sending them to Canada.The Trial Court convicted the accused for rigorous imprisonment of two years under Sections 420, 120-B of the IPC. After analysing the submissions, the Court found that the prosecution had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt and the accused failed to send the accused to Canada or to return the amount of Rs. 15 lakhs to the complainants.Further, it noted that the accused have offered no plausible explanation whatsoever as to why the complainant party would have wanted to implicate them in the case.Adding that "though, there are certain gaps in the investigation," the Court said, "the benefit of the same cannot accrue to the accused."Reliance was placed on C. Muniappan & others Versus State of Tamil Nadu, [2010 AIR Supreme Court 3718] to underscore that there may be highly defective investigation in a case. However, it is to be examined as to whether there is any lapse by the I.O. and whether due to such lapse any benefit should be given to the accused. The law on this issue is well settled that the defect in the investigation by itself cannot be a ground for acquittal.Justice Bedi highlighted that the contention of the accused that the FIR was registered in the year 2000 and that the accused was now of the age of 74 years and therefore, she ought to be released on probation "cannot be accepted."In the light of the above, the Court upheld the conviction.Mr. Divyadeep Walia, Advocate and Ms. Ruchi Sekhri, Advocate (Amicus Curiae) for the PetitionerMr. Harkanwar Jeet Singh, Asstt. A.G., Punjab.Mr. Gaurav Vir Singh Behl, Advocate for the complainantTitle: CHARANJIT KAUR v. STATE OF PUNJABClick here to read/download the order

Punjab & Haryana High Court Upholds Conviction Of 74-Yr-Old In 2000 Visa Fraud Case

Aiman J. Chishti

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