A New Delhi court has granted permission for the renewal of the passport of a suspected middleman in a bribery case involving a top GAIL official, stating that the mere issuance of the passport would not give him the leverage to travel abroad at his own free will.
The court issued this order in response to an application filed by Pawan Gaur, who allegedly acted as a middleman for GAIL Director (Marketing) ES Ranganathan, obtaining bribes from private companies purchasing petrochemical products marketed by the public sector company.
Special Judge Namrita Aggarwal granted the relief and noted that Gaur had not attempted to evade the process of justice so far.
The CBI opposed the application, suggesting that the accused might attempt to flee justice if the request was approved.
In the order issued on Wednesday, the judge stated, ‘Mere renewal of the passport would not give the accused the leverage to travel abroad freely without seeking the court’s permission.’ However, the judge clarified that the order did not instruct passport authorities to issue the document to the applicant.
‘This is a no-objection from the court for the issuance of a passport with the clarification that the court has no objection if the applicant’s passport is renewed for a period of 10 years. The applicant is directed to seek the court’s permission before leaving the country,’ the judge stated.
Gaur and Ranganathan are accused in a bribery case involving Rs 50 lakh. They allegedly provided discounts to private companies purchasing petrochemical products marketed by the ‘Maharatna’ public sector enterprise.
Ranganathan is also accused in a separate case of accumulating assets worth more than Rs 4.82 crore, disproportionate to his known sources of income, between 2017 and 2022.
