Srinagar: The J&K High Court on Monday dismissed the plea of former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti seeking issuance of her passport. The court ruled that it cannot interfere with the course of action adopted by the respondents under law.
When the plea was taken up for consideration on Monday, Assistant Solicitor General of India (ASGI) Tahir Majid Shamsi produced a communication dated 26 March, 2021, issued by Passport Office Srinagar which mentioned that the police verification report received from Additional Director General of Police, J&K-CID, did not favour issuance of passport and had returned Mehbooba’s application as “Not recommended.”
“In view of the J&K CID report, your case was found to attract refusal under provisions of section 6(2)(c) of the Passport Act, 1967. In light of the above, your application for issuance of passport is refused,” the communication of the Passport office said.
The court while taking the aforesaid communication on record noted that both Tahir Majid Shamsi and BA Dar, appearing for the respondents, had submitted that the writ petition filed by the petitioner deserved to be dismissed inasmuch as no direction can be issued by this court in the matter of issuance of passport in favour of the petitioner as it is contrary to the scheme of the law governing the subject.
Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey said, “I am of the considered view 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 grants 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.”
“However, the respondents have already undertaken the said 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,” the court said.
Besides, the court recorded that it finds substance in the argument of counsel Shamsi that the petitioner had no absolute right to demand a passport in her favour, which is substantiated by the law laid down by the Supreme Court in case titled ‘Satwant Singh Sawhney v. D. Ramarathnam, Assistant Passport Officer, New Delhi & Ors.’
“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, alongwith the connected CM(s). Interim directions(s), if any subsisting as on date, shall stand vacated,” Justice Magrey recorded.
However, the court made it clear 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.
Earlier, Mufti had moved court with a plea seeking issuance of her passport which according to her had been delayed by authorities by more than three months.
She had filed for renewal of her passport on 11 December, 2020 while her earlier passport was valid till 31 may, 2019.

NUSRAT SIDIQ