Allahabad HC Quashes Court Order Refusing To Issue NOC For Passport Renewal Of Dancer Sapna Choudhary

Prayagraj, April 19 (TNA) The Allahabad High Court has cancelled the trial court order staying the no objection certificate (NOC) for the passport renewal of dancer Sapna Choudhary. The High Court directed the passport authorities to decide on the application made by Sapna Choudhary for renewal or re-issue of her passport and pass orders within a month.

The court said that the right to travel abroad is part of a person's freedom. Saying this, the bench of Justice Shamim Ahmed quashed the order of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court refusing to issue a no-objection certificate for the issuance of a passport.

Dancer Sapna Chaudhary had approached the High Court challenging the order of the ACJM court in which her application to renew his passport was rejected because the court had no jurisdiction to allow passport renewal.

Sapna filed a petition in the High Court against the order of the ACJM court. Her lawyer argued in court that if she is acquitted in future, she may suffer a huge loss by not going abroad for his professional work.

It was also argued that such refusal violates the applicant's constitutional rights under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India. After considering the arguments made by counsel for the parties and perusing the record, the court held that citizens are entitled to a passport under Article 19(1)(d) and Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

The court found that the ACJM Court ignored the notification and the Office Memorandum of the Ministry of External Affairs and quashed the order. Consequently, Choudhary was directed to make a fresh application along with a certified copy of the High Court order for renewal/re-issue of his passport before the concerned Regional Passport Officer within 20 days from the date of this order.

In turn, the concerned Regional Passport Officer/Authority was directed to pass the order for renewal/re-issue of the passport of the applicant within one month after deciding on the application and completing appropriate formalities as per law. The court also directed Choudhary to inform and obtain permission from the concerned trial court before going abroad and to appear before the trial court on a date fixed as directed by the trial court.