Bollywood industry’s well-known actor in the name of Shiney Ahuja’s passport renewal has been kept on hold by the Passport Authority based on an order given by the Bombay High Court on 9th August, 2023. The High Court on Tuesday directed the Passport Authority of India not to withhold the renewal of actor and rape convict Shiney Ahuja’s passport on grounds of his pending appeal in High Court.
In the year 2011 a sessions court in Mumbai convicted and sentenced Shiney Ahuja to seven years imprisonment for raping (section 376 of the IPC) his house help. Ahuja challenged his conviction and sent in an appeal before the Bombay High Court, which eventually granted him bail on April 27, 2011. One of the conditions being imposed on him was not leaving the country without the court’s permission. Yet, He was allowed to travel abroad on December 5, 2011 after giving a complete itinerary of the places he wished to visit. Therefore, the court accordingly directed the return of his passport on the ground of contempt of court. In his plea; for the renewal of his passport validity Ahuja claimed that he approached the Embassy of India at Philippines for renewing his passport. However, they cited a court order as a necessary document for renewal and sought for the court order to specify the validity period failing which it would be renewed only for a year. Ahuja through his advocate Karan Singh B. Rajput submitted that renewal of the passport for period of one year was causing him unnecessary hardship as some countries did not allow citizens carrying passport of validity of less than six months to stay in that country. The single bench judge Justice Amit Borkar observed that:
“Considering the fact that during pendency of present appeal passport was renewed on more than six occasions and there is no violation of bail conditions, the applicant has made out a case for direction to the passport authority to renew the applicant’s passport, provided he is otherwise liable for renewal of passport for ten years.” Simply, the High court is stating that up till now; the renewal of the appellant’s passport has been done in six different occasions; all the six renewals being out of risk so therefore, a clear message to the Passport Authority of India has been directed by the court to consider the actual renewal of the passport.
Accordingly, through the case: Shiney Suraj Ahuja vs State of Maha & others | IA – 10753/ 2023, the High Court of Bombay passed the following order Respondent Nos.2 and 3 are directed that the application of the applicant for renewal of passport for period of ten years shall not be rejected on the ground of pendency of the present appeal, provided the applicant is otherwise eligible for renewal of passport.”
NAME: DIVYA SALGAONKAR, 3rd YEAR BLS, COLLEGE NAME: VES COLLEGE OF LAW, MUMBAI
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