Police nor criminal court can seize passport, says Karnataka HC
Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has reiterated that ”neither the police nor the criminal court invoking powers under Sections 102 or 104 of the Criminal Procedure Code can seize or impound a passport.” The court, therefore, recently quashed the order of the Debt Recovery Tribunal-1, Bengaluru, which had impounded the passport of Nitin Shambhukumar Kasliwal, a businessman from Mumbai.
The court said the Tribunal has the powers of a civil court and when the civil court itself cannot impound a passport, the DRT too cannot.
The facts of the case date back to 1999 when Kasliwal had executed an agreement in favour of various lenders for loans secured. In 2015, the lender banks initiated a case before the Debt Recovery Tribunal seeking repayment and in default attachment and sale of properties of Kasliwal and his businesses.
The banks applied for the surrender of Kasliwal’s passport. On April 16, 2015, the Tribunal passed an order retaining his passport.
Subsequently, Kasliwal filed applications whenever he needed to travel abroad and in return surrendered the passport to the Tribunal.
In December 2016 he sought the release of his passport as he had to renew it before its validity expired, but his application was rejected. He then approached the High Court.
Kasliwal’s petition was heard by Justice M Nagaprasanna, who gave his judgment on December 6, 2023.
The court noted that the Tribunal had the same powers vested in a civil court.
”The issue is, whether the Tribunal can direct withholding of passport of any person in terms of the power ascribed under the provisions quoted hereinabove. The answer would be an unequivocal and emphatic ‘NO’,” the court said in its judgment.
Reasoning that the Tribunal does not have the power to impound passports, the court said, ”The Passport Act is a special enactment and is trite that it being a special enactment which would prevail over any power of even the civil court or criminal court to retain or impound a passport.
”The issue in the case at hand is, such an act being done by the Tribunal which undoubtedly has only the power of following the procedure of a civil court in securing ends of justice. The civil court or the criminal court itself does not have the power to impound the passport.” The court said that though Sections 102 and 104 empower the police to seize and the court to impound any document, it does not include the passport.
”Impounding of any document produced before the court cannot stretch to an extent that those courts can impound the passport also,” it said.
Ordering the Tribunal to release the passport of Kasliwal, the court said, ”The very act of the Tribunal in directing surrender of the passport of a citizen or its detention before it, would amount to impounding of the passport. Such power is unavailable to the Tribunal.”
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
'Strong evidence' available against Saif attacker, police tell court while opposing his bail plea
Mumbai, Jul 25 (PTI): Police have opposed the bail plea of the Bangladeshi national arrested for allegedly stabbing Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan with a knife and injuring him at his home here in January this year, telling a Mumbai court there was "strong evidence" against the accused.
Citing a Forensic Science Laboratory report, police reiterated before the sessions court their earlier claim knife fragments that got lodged near the actor's spine during the attack as well as a part found at the crime spot have matched with the weapon recovered from the accused, Shariful Islam.
These three pieces were part of the same weapon (knife) used to attack the filmstar, the police said in a written response to the accused's plea submitted in the court on Thursday (July 24).
Khan was repeatedly stabbed with a knife by an intruder inside his 12th floor apartment in upscale Bandra on January 16 during a robbery attempt.
The 54-year-old actor underwent surgery at Lilavati Hospital to remove a piece of knife that got lodged near his spine during the attack. He was discharged from the private hospital after five days.
Shariful Islam, a Bangladeshi national, was arrested two days later for allegedly stabbing Khan.
The police, in their response, highlighted that the accused is a Bangladeshi citizen residing illegally in India.
If granted bail, there was a possibility that he may flee India and not appear before the court during the trial. The crime committed by the accused is of a "very serious nature, and strong evidence" is available against him, they argued.
In his bail plea, filed through advocate Vipul Dushing, the accused asserted he was innocent and had no prior criminal record.
Investigation into the case has practically concluded with only the filing of a chargesheet pending, the accused contended while seeking bail.
The alleged attacker has been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections related to house trespass, robbery and dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous injury.
