Clever, manipulative, unlicensed travel agents mushrooming and taking advantage of ordinary persons: P&H HC

A case concerning a couple who had posed as travel agents to dupe people seeking to move overseas recently led the Punjab and Haryana High Court to voice concern that such deceitful agents were mushrooming even in remote parts of the State (Neetu Sharma v. State of Haryana and connected case). .In this case, the couple were charged with cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal intimidation..Justice HS Madaan lamented that reliance on these agents often led to innocents being incarcerated or even being killed during the perilous journeys they were forced to embark upon because the agents did not possess licenses..“Clever and manipulative persons take advantage of the simplicity and lack of awareness amongst ordinary persons, who are willing to pay any amount to go abroad in search of greener pastures.”Punjab and Haryana High Court.Observing that there was also a spike in cases of human trafficking, the Judge highlighted that a great many of these agents did not possess valid licences to send people abroad.."The travel agents are mushrooming even in remote parts of State of Punjab. The majority of such travel agents do not possess valid licenses for sending people abroad and they rather try to extract money from innocent persons by befooling and defrauding them making tall promises of assuring their migration abroad without actually meaning to do so or say without being in a position to do so", reads the order..In the case at hand, the petitioner couple duped the complainant’s family of a sum of Rs 26,75,000 on a false premise that they were licensed travel agents. They first promised to help the complainant move overseas. After the first plan backfired with the complainant’s deportation and incarceration, his brother was sent abroad. .The complainant was incarcerated in the United States following his taking a roundabout travel circuit to reach there. After his documents were found faulty, he was incarcerated and then deported. At the second instance, the accused assured the family that the brother would not face the same trouble as the complainant. However, the couple ended up tricking the complainant’s family once again..Dismissing the couple’s plea for anticipatory bail, Justice Madaan stated that the offences against the petitioner couple were quite “serious and grave”..Taking note of additional charges that were pending against the petitioners in another case, the Judge said:.“The allegations...require custodial interrogation to find out as to how the scam was planned and executed. The recovery of the money said to have been paid by the complainant to the petitioners as well as other documents given by him to them is to be effected. In case custodial interrogation of the petitioners is denied to the investigating agency that would leave many loose ends and gaps in the investigation affecting the investigation being carried out adversely which is not called for. Therefore, no case for grant of pre arrest bail to either of the petitioners is made out.”.On these terms, the plea was dismissed..Read the Order here: