India, Feb. 9 -- In a significant development in the Moga passport scam, the court of the additional district and sessions judge on Monday provided partial relief to the appellants, acquitting several travel agents who were previously convicted, while upholding the conviction of the police officials involved in the fraudulent issuance of passports.

The scam, which first surfaced in 2008 following a whistleblowing report by a police official, involved the fraudulent issuance of over 400 passports based on forged documents and falsified police verification reports. In 2018, a magisterial court had convicted 25 individuals-including travel agents, passport applicants, and three head constables-sentencing them to three years of imprisonment....