No reason not to issue passport because brother a militant, father an overground worker: J&K High Court

J&K High Court directs CID and Passport Officer to consider passport issuance based on individual merit, not family history.

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Wednesday (February 12, 2025) directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Regional Passport Officer to consider issuing a passport based on “uninfluenced report” in favour of a local, after he was denied the same because his brother is a slain militant and the father an overground worker (OWG).

“This court is of the considered opinion that there is no reason to not recommend the case of the petitioner for issuance of passport just for the involvement of his brother in militancy activities in the year 2011 when he was killed and the listing of his father as an OGW for grant of passport in his favour,” Justice M.A Chowdhary held. 

The court directed the Additional Director General of Police, CID, “to re-submit the report uninfluenced by the conduct or activities of the brother of the petitioner as well as his father.”

It directed the Regional Passport Officer to consider the case within four weeks on the report of the CID and pass “an appropriate order in favour of the petitioner, within two weeks thereafter”.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Mohammad Amir Malik, 29, a resident of Shagan, Khari tehsil, of Ramban. The petitioner, Mr. Amir Malik, a diploma engineer, “desired to go abroad in search of a good job and applied for issuance of a passport” but was denied the same with the remarks “Not Cleared” and “may likely to misuse the passport”. 

Officials told the court that the passport verification report in respect of character and antecedents of the petitioner was got verified through field agencies, which revealed that Mr. Amir Malik’s brother, Ayaz Malik alias Abu Musa, remained a militant of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) outfit, who was killed during an encounter with the security forces in the year 2011, besides the father is enlisted as OGW in the records.

“Since brother of the petitioner was affiliated with the HM, a banned terrorist organisation, and his father is an OGW of terrorists, as such under the given circumstances, the possibility of the applicant coming under duress, influence or extraneous pressure of anti-Indian terrorist/separatist/secessionist outfits of elements of hostile foreign agencies has been assessed to be of very high probability; that after consideration of the field report, the case of the petitioner for issuance of passport has been disposed of as “not recommended,” the court was told.