High Court Dismisses Mehbooba Mufti's Plea Over Issuance Of Passport

The court observed that it did not find any reason to interfere with the course of action adopted by the respondents in the case.

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, in which she had sought a direction to the passport authority for the issuance of the document to her. Dismissing the petition, Justice Ali Mohammad Magray observed that Ms Mufti's application for a passport was rejected by the passport officer, Srinagar as the police verification report recommended against the issuance of the document to her. "In such circumstances, 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 grant or otherwise of passport in favour of an individual is very limited in as much 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," the judge said in his order. The court observed that it did not find any reason to interfere with the course of action adopted by the respondents in the case and "as a sequel thereto, the petition of the petitioner is hereby dismissed, along with the connected CM(s). Interim directions(s), if any subsisting as on date, shall stand vacated".