JW Marriott Hotel, Hotel Sheraton Grand in Pune booked over foreign-nationals' check-in

Police audits found Form-3 arrival records for an Italian and a Chinese national were filed 39 days and 14 days late, respectively.

In a crackdown on non-compliance with foreign-national check-in disclosures, the Special Branch (Foreigners’ Registration Office) of the Pune city police registered cases against the management of two premier star hotels in the city on Saturday.

Police have registered cases against the managements of two Pune hotels for alleged violations of foreign-national reporting requirements. (Unsplash/Representational)

The enforcement actions were taken after police audits uncovered severe delays in submitting mandatory Form-3 details regarding foreign guests checking into the properties. Two cases were registered under Section 23(B) and Section 23(D) of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.

JW Marriott case involves 39-day delay

At the Chatushringi police station, a complaint was lodged by assistant police sub-inspector Vishal Dayanand Borde from the prosecution branch of the special branch. According to the filed report, an Italian national checked into the JW Marriott Hotel on Senapati Bapat Road on June 7 at 19:07 hrs. However, the hotel management delayed submitting the mandatory Form-3 arrival record online to the Special Branch until July 17 at 06:52 hrs. The police noted that the management breached statutory immigration reporting rules by deliberately delaying notification for a total of 39 days through negligence.

Sheraton Grand report filed 14 days late

A similar action was taken at the Bund Garden police station following a complaint filed by woman police constable Ashwini Balasaheb Dhamne of the special branch. The case involves the management of Hotel Sheraton Grand, located near Raja Bahadur Mill Road, Sangamvadi. Police records indicate that a Chinese national arrived at the hotel on June 14 at 19:29 hrs for a stay. The hotel administration failed to report the guest’s check-in on time, logging the details in Form-3 only on June 28 at 21:18 hrs. This resulted in an unauthorised delay of 14 days.

Gyanendu Deo Singh, marketing head, JW Marriott, said, “The issue has arisen due to miscommunication. We have done the necessary compliances and the issue is over. There was an issue related to old and new passports related to renewal. There is no discrepancy on our part.”