Individual’s activities should form basis for issuance of passport: HC

Srinagar, Feb 11: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh Tuesday held that a passport cannot be denied to a person merely for the involvement of his brother in militancy activities and a person’s activities should form the basis for issuance of passport.

A bench of Justice M A Chowdhary while allowing one Muhammad Amir Malik’s plea, directed J&K’s Additional Director General of Police, CID to re-submit the report uninfluenced by the conduct or activities of the brother as well as Malik’s father to Regional Passport Officer within four weeks. The Court asked the Passport Officer to consider Malik’s case on the report of Additional Director General of Police CID and pass an appropriate order in his favour within two weeks thereafter.

Malik, a resident of Ramban and holding a diploma in engineering, contended that he desired to go abroad in search of a good job as a career. As such he had applied for issuance of a passport through “on line‟ process on September 6, 2021 and informed that his case would be processed subsequent to CID and Police verification.

The ADGP CID in the report submitted to the court said that passport verification report in respect of character and antecedents of Malik was got verified through field agencies which revealed that his brother remained a militant of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit who was killed during an encounter with security forces 2011 and that his father was enlisted as OGW in the records.

“While the protection of personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution is available to a person, the said right cannot be claimed as a matter of right by a person who is an anarchist or a person attempting to destabilize the security and integrity of our State,” the court said. “It is precisely for those reasons that the provisions of Section 6(2) sub-sections (a) to (i) have been incorporated in the Passports Act, 1967”, it added.

The Court observed that the authorities would certainly be justified in not recommending the case of Malik for issuance of passport had there been any iota of allegation against him or his involvement in any subversive activities which could be deemed to be activities prejudicial to the security, sovereignty and integrity of the State.

“It should have been the activities of the petitioner (Malik) which should have formed the basis either for permitting or rejecting the request for issuance of passport in his favour,” the court said.

“The basis for not recommending the case of the petitioner for issuance of passport does not have any reasonable relation or nexus with the activities of the petitioner as the same do not even remotely connect the petitioner with any activity which could be termed as prejudicial to the security, sovereignty and integrity of the State or the Country”, the court said

The Court held that Malik cannot be deprived of his right as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution on the basis of the alleged misdemeanors of his brother.

The Court directed the Additional Director General of Police, CID to re-submit the report uninfluenced by the conduct or activities of Malik’s brother as well as his father to the Regional Passport Officer within four weeks. The Court said the Passport Officer shall consider Malik’s case on the report of the ADGP and pass an appropriate order in his favour within two weeks thereafter.