'Underage' Soha got gun licence in Gurgaon

[karira]

As reported by TNN on timesofindia.com on 19 March 2008:
'Underage' Soha got gun licence in Gurgaon-Delhi-Cities-The Times of India

'Underage' Soha got gun licence in Gurgaon

GURGAON: Only months after a boy was shot by his classmate in a Gurgaon school, leading to a furore over the cavalier manner in which the Gurgaon administration issues gun licences, there seems to be fresh evidence of the authorities flouting rules.

An RTI application filed by an animal rights activist Naresh Kadyan revealed that actor Soha Ali Khan was issued a gun licence when she was only 18 years old. The law stipulates that no one below the age of 21 can own a firearm.

Admitting to a serious slip on the part of officials, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Rakesh Gupta on Tuesday said a show-cause notice would ask the actress to clarify her position on the arms licence issued to her way back in 1996 and she will be given two weeks' time to file her reply. The administration is expected to issue the notice on Wednesday evening.

According to a copy of Soha's passport available with the district administration, her date of birth is October 4, 1978. This means that in 1996, she was not eligible for an arms licence, said Gupta. On Tuesday, it also came to light that Soha's original licence file, along with a number of others, is missing. The administration, anxious to save face, has announced that it would lodge an FIR against unknown persons in this regard.

"When the licence was issued, she was a little over 18 years old. This was a gross violation of the provisions of the Arms Act. The FIR will seek further investigation into the role of officials and others involved," said Gupta.

The Deputy Commissioner noted that rifle number 91501 was registered in the name of Soha Sultan. Her father, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, was appointed a retainer of this rifle on January 7, 2000. Jhajjar Police records in the black buck poaching case also mention the fact that this rifle was recovered from Pataudi in June 2005, Gupta added.

He said that since the case of poaching was registered in Jhajjar district, his office had no record of whether the same weapon was used for the alleged offence.

"We have sought a report from the SP of Jhajjar. We hope to receive the document by Wednesday evening," he said. The DC added that the licence was issued to Soha in November 1996 and it was renewed in 1998, 2003 and 2005.

"The exact date of application for the licence is not available with us since the original file is missing from our records. However, records of the renewed licence are with the administration," Gupta said.

Despite Times City's repeated attempts to contact Soha Ali Khan and Pataudi, no response could be elicited from them.




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As reported by Express News Service on indianexpress.com on 21 March 2008:
Express India :: Soha Ali issued showcause notice

Soha Ali issued showcause notice


Gurgaon, March 21 Despite Bollywood starlet Soha Ali Khan’s public statement clearing her stand in the 1996 gun licensing case, the Gurgaon administration on Friday issued a showcause notice against the actress. Soha has 15 days to explain why legal action should not be taken against her. At the time of acquiring the gun licence, Soha was only 18 years old: proved by the date of birth on her passport issued from Gurgaon, officials said.

On Tuesday, Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Gupta had said the notice would be issued after the Jhajhar police submitted their report.
According to Gupta, the SSP Jhajhar was asked to investigate the matter as the licence was renewed in 2005, even though at the time the gun was supposed to be under the Jhajhar police custody.

In the notice, Soha has been asked to explain why she applied for the licence on November 5, 1996, when she was below 21 years. According to Arms Act of 1959, the minimum age of applicant is 21 years.

She has also been asked to explain her role in the black buck case registered against her father Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi.

As per records, in June 2005, Pataudi had used the same gun licensed under his daughter’s name, to shoot the endangered species of black buck in Jhajhar.

A case was registered at Jhajhar Police Station against Pataudi in this regard and the gun was taken into custody.

But, as the first licence issued in Soha’s name was to expire in December the same year, she applied for renewal in September. “We have asked her to explain that while moving an application before the SDM in Gurgaon for renewal of the aforesaid weapon on September 7, 2005, she concealed that the rifle entered in her arms license was in custody of Jhajjar police. She should have informed district authorities about this which was her moral duty,” said Gupta.

Issuing this notice to Soha Sultan, the administration has asked why her license should not be cancelled and she has to submit her original arms license in District Magistrate Office within 15 days.

If no reply is received, “it will be presumed that she has nothing to say and district administration would take appropriate action under law,” said Gupta, who is also District Magistrate.

The whole matter was brought to light after Gurgaon administration received an RTI application from Naresh Kadyan, president of People for Animal’s Haryana.

Kadyan had questioned the renewal of the licence to an underaged person and the misuse of the gun by Pataudi. Last week, it was also found that the original file of the weapon had been missing from records. No action could be taken against any official till the original documents are found, officials said.

[karira]

As reported by Dipak Kumar Dash of TNN in timesofindia.indiatimes.com on 09 April 2008:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/D...ow/2936326.cms

Gun licence row: Soha 'denies' hiding info

GURGAON: The Gurgaon administration's notice to actress Soha Ali Khan seems to have backfired. Highly placed sources said that in a reply to the show cause notice issued to her, the actress has clarified that she did not hide any information while applying for the arms license and hence cannot be held at fault.

On March 21, Gurgaon DC Rakesh Gupta had given a show cause notice to Soha regarding the arms license issued to her when she was underage. The actress was asked to file a reply to the notice within a fortnight. An official release issued by the DC on Tuesday said, in a reply from Soha received on Monday, the actress had requested that she be given a personal hearing by the authorities concerned. The DC's release added that a decision in this regard will be taken on Wednesday.

Sources said that, in her signed reply, Soha has said that she had nothing to do with the verification of the information she had submitted in her application and it was up to the authorities concerned to carry out the task.
The fact that the license in question was illegal had only come to light when the DC replied to an RTI application filed by animal rights activist Naresh Kadyan. The actress has reportedly asked the authorities to give her a copy of the RTI reply, sources said. Although Soha's reply will pose critical questions for the administration, sources said that there is little chance of officials being held responsible because the original file of this license is missing and in such a situationone can hardly identify the person responsible for this, said officials.

The notice to Soha said that on November 5, 1996, she was issued an arms licence though she was below 21 and asked her why her licence should not be withdrawn.



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[karira]

As reported by TNN on timesofindia.indiatimes.com on 10 April 2008:
Soha hearing on April 25-Delhi-Cities-The Times of India

GURGAON: Two days after actor Soha Ali replied to a cause notice issued to her in gun licence case, Gurgaon DC Rakesh Gupta said on Wednesday that his office will call her for a personal hearing on April 25.

During the hearing Soha will have to put her case regarding the misuse of her rifle by her father Mansoor Ali Khan Patoudi in the alleged hunting of black bucks in Jhajjar in 2005, sources said.

Gupta said that in her reply, Soha has claimed innocence. He also said they would supply her attested copy of the documents which the administration has supplied to an animal activist Naresh Kdyan under an RTI. He added she herself or her authorised representative would also be allowed to inspect the record in city magistrate�s office before the date of personal hearing.

Earlier, a notice was sent to her seeking reply on why her arms licence should not be cancelled since it was issued in November 1996 when she was underage.

[karira]

As reported in hindu.com on 15 April 2008:
The Hindu News Update Service

Soha Ali's personal appearance delayed till April 30

Chandigarh (PTI): Authorities in Gurgaon have postponed by five days a personal hearing of actor Soha Ali Khan in the arms licence case against her due to some administrative exigency.

The date of Soha's personal appearance before the Gurgaon district administration in connection with the license issued to her in 1996 was changed to April 30, an official spokesman said here. The change was made due to some administrative exigency, the spokesman said.

Earlier after getting a reply from Soha to the show cause notice issued to her recently, the administration had last week given her an opportunity of "personal appearance" for April 25.

The actress was sent a notice by the administration for obtaining the arms license in November 1996 when she was under the eligible 21 years. She was asked to explain why a .12 bore rifle issued in her name was "misused" by her father Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi for allegedly killing an endangered black buck in Jhajjar district of Haryana in 2005.

In her reply, Soha pleaded she was "not guilty" of securing the license when she was underage. Under Right to Information Act, she demanded inspection of photocopies of the documents attached with the application submitted for securing the arms licence, besides seeking a personal hearing before a final decision is taken in the case, he said.