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The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has pulled up government for denying passport to PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti’s mom, announcing the passport officer can’t “act as a mouthpiece” of the CID. Justice M A Chowdhary, even as listening to the petition of Mehbooba Mufti’s mom Gulshan Nazir, stated it seems, there’s no floor to refuse her request for problem or renewal of passport.
“Even, there isn’t always an iota of allegation towards the petitioner which can factor out to any safety concerns. The police verification document formulated via way of means of CID-CIK can’t override the statutory provisions of Section 6 of the Passport Act 1967,” the decide stated in an order reported on Saturday.
The courtroom docket stated in any other case additionally, withinside the document relied upon via way of means of the respondents –the passport officer and the appellant authority — not anything unfavorable has been recorded towards the petitioner in regards to any safety concerns.
“The simplest thing in regards to the petitioner is the reference of research via way of means of groups Enforcement Directorate and the CID-CIK in regards to a number of the transactions concerning a few financial institution debts maintained via way of means of the petitioner both one by one or at the same time with Ms. Mehbooba Mufti,” it stated.
Simply on the premise of the document of the Jammu and Kashmir Crime Investigation Department (CID) that has encouraged that passport must now no longer be issued, the passport officer, beneathneath the provisions of the Passport Act, can’t “close his eyes and to behave on that”, the courtroom docket stated.
Coming down closely on government, it stated because the passport carried out for via way of means of the petitioner has now no longer been issued because the equal become now no longer encouraged for safety clearance via way of means of the CID, the selection taken via way of means of both – the passport officer in addition to the appellant authority – “is out of place resulting from safety”.
The courtroom docket stated the refusal via way of means of the passport officer become “non-utility of mind”. “At least, the passport officer must have, withinside the history of the data and circumstances, if required, requested the police and the CID corporation as to whether or not there’s whatever unfavorable towards the petitioner,” the courtroom docket stated.
“In this kind of scenario with out going into the police verification document, refusal on a part of the passport officer clearly be termed as non-utility of mind,” it stated.
After searching into the referred data and circumstances, together with the CID document, the courtroom docket stated “The passport officer has now no longer to behave as mouthpiece of the CID”.
“When an expert is vested with the power, the equal is to be exercised judiciously and now no longer arbitrarily as has been performed withinside the on the spotaneous case,” it stated.
Justice Chowdhary stated it seems that the passport officer had acted at the forwarding letter of the CID as opposed to analysing its document in detail.
It stated the police verification document organized via way of means of the CID become in regards to 2 applications, one via way of means of the petitioner and the alternative via way of means of her daughter.
The document has exhaustively handled regard to the petitioner’s daughter making references to her ideology and sports which have been termed as a hazard to the safety of India, the courtroom docket stated.
“However, there’s no point out in regards to the petitioner withinside the document in question, on the premise of which advice become now no longer made to re-problem passport in favour of the petitioner and the passport officer refused to problem the equal for the purpose of ‘safety’,” it stated.
The appellate authority additionally appears now no longer to have perused the police verification document and upheld the order of the passport officer, “on the incorrect premise of safety with none foundation”.
The courtroom docket stated it’s miles of the taken into consideration opinion that the floor on which the request of the petitioner for re-problem of the passport has been rejected “is completely untenable and unsustainable” withinside the eyes of the law.
The petitioner, who claims to be an octogenarian, withinside the absence of any unfavorable safety document, can’t be disadvantaged of her essential proper assured to her beneathneath Article 21 of the Constitution to journey overseas as an Indian citizen, it added.
Allowing the petition, the courtroom docket set apart the orders impugned and requested the passport officer to remember the complete remember afresh and byskip orders inside a length of six weeks from the date the reproduction of the order is served upon him.
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