Thursday, June 2 2005 07:57 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: A city court yesterday (June 1, 2005) ordered transfer of all cases against multi-crore fake stamp paper scam kingpin Abdul Karim Telgi pending in various courts in the capital to Karkadooma courts in East Delhi to secure his presence through video-conferencing.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Madhu Jain gave the order on a petition moved by the CBI who were apparently perturbed by the failure of the police to produce Telgi, currently lodged at the Yerawada jail in Maharashtra for trial in various cases against him in the Tiz Hazari court and Patiala court complexes during the past several dates.

Stating, "Video conferencing facility was available in the Karkadooma court complex," the CBI had urged the court to "transfer all stamp paper cases involving Telgi to the Karkadooma courts".

ACMM ordered that all Magistrate level cases be heard by Metropolitan Magistrate S S Rathi while sessions level trials will be conducted by Additional Sessions Judge J M Malik.

A production warrant issued by Metropolitan Magistrate V K Khanna in the Patiala House courts in connection with a fake stamp paper racket estimated at Rs 212 crore in the capital is already pending against Telgi and two other accused owing to their continued absence for trial.

Delhi police had registered a case in the Hauz Khas police station in October 2003 after it stumbled on the racket dealing in fake judicial and non-judicial stamp papers and arrested seven persons in this connection. Investigation of the case was later transferred to CBI.

The fake stamp paper case against Telgi and three others-Mansoor Ahmed, Deepak, Suhail Khan and Wasim pending before the ACMM in the Tiz Hazari courts was filed by the Daryaganj police on August 20, 2001.