Court refuses to allow plea of Mufti’s mother
Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Mar 29: Former Chief Minister and People’s Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti has been denied a passport after an adverse report by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police.
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High Court meantime dismissed the plea of Mehbooba, who had sought expedition in the process to issue her a passport. “I am of the considered view that no direction can be issued by this Court for issuance of passport in favour of the petitioner. The scope of this Court in the matter of grant or otherwise of passport in favour of an individual is very limited…can only direct the concerned authorities to expeditiously consider the case of an individual in the light of the mandate of the scheme of law governing the subject,” Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey observed.
Earlier, the Passport Officer, Srinagar, submitted to the High Court that the Additional Director General of Police (DGP) of the CID, has categorised the application of Mehbooba as “not recommended passport case”.
“As per norms, clear Police Verification Report (PVR) is mandatory (for issuance of a passport). The PVR received from the ADGP, CID, do not favour issuance of passport and (was) returned as ‘not recommended for passport case’. In view of the CID report, your case was found to attract refusal under the provision Section 6(2) (c) of the Passport Act, 1967,” the Passport Officer’s submission read.
Mehbooba had applied for a fresh passport last year on December 11. She has now been asked to appeal before the Joint Secretary (PSP) and the Chief Passport Officer, Ministry of External Affairs, Patiala House, New Delhi, within 30 days “in case of any grievance against the decision”.
The precise case of the petitioner-Mufti before the court was that she, on 11th of December, 2020, submitted an application for issuance of passport in her favour before the Passport Officer, Regional Passport Office, Boulward Road, Srinagar, against proper receipt under file No.SG1065057682420 and as per circular instructions issued, in this behalf, by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, the passport of an individual is required to be issued within 30 days from the date of receipt of application, but despite lapse of more than three months, no passport was issued in favour of the petitioner.
“In the above background, I do not find any reason to interfere with the course of action adopted by the respondents in this case, as a sequel thereto, the petition of the petitioner is hereby dismissed, along with the applications. Interim directions(s), if any subsisting as on date, shall stand vacated. It is, however, made clear here that dismissal of the Writ petition shall not come in the way of the petitioner for availing the remedy as may be available to her in accordance with the law”, Justice Magrey recorded.
Court as per admitted position of the scheme of law governing the grant or otherwise of passport in favour of the citizens of India, added that the concerned passport Authority, upon receipt of an application from an individual seeking issuance of passport in his/ her favour, has to seek appropriate report from the Police/ CID authorities concerned and, on the basis of such report, the Authority has to issue or refuse passport in favour of the individual accordingly.
However, the Police Verification Report received by the Passport Officer, Srinagar did not recommend grant of passport in favour of the petitioner, as such, the Passport Officer has, consequently, refused issuance of passport in favour of the petitioner.
Justice Magrey in view of these circumstances opined that no direction can be issued by this Court for issuance of passport in favour of the petitioner. “Even otherwise, the scope of this Court in the matter of grant or otherwise of passport in favour of an individual is very limited inasmuch as the Court, in this behalf, can only direct the concerned authorities to expeditiously consider the case of an individual in the light of the mandate of the scheme of law governing the subject”, read the judgment.
As the authorities, court said, have already undertaken the exercise in tune with the mandate of the scheme of law by, firstly, seeking report from the Police/ CID authorities, and, thereafter, passing the order in tune with such recommendations of the police/ CID authorities.
Court has also refused to allow the plea of mother of Mufti seeking issuance of passport in her favour. In this connection petitioner-Gulshan Nazir had approached the court with the prayer that the authorities be directed to issue passport in her favour.
Court after receiving the verification report of CID concluded, that there is no reason to interfere with the course of action adopted by the authorities in this case and in result dismissed the petition by making it clear that the dismissal shall not come in the way of the petitioner for availing the remedy as may be available to her in accordance with law.
Taking to tweeter Mehbooba said: “(The) Passport Office refused to issue my passport based on CID’s report citing it as ‘detrimental to the security of India’. This is the level of normalcy achieved in Kashmir since August 2019 that an ex-Chief Minister holding a passport is a threat to the sovereignty of a mighty nation.”
She was among dozens of mainstream leaders arrested a day before the Centre ended J&K’s special constitutional position on August 5, 2019. She was released in 2020.
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