New Delhi: The Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Mumbai is seeking information from the Madhya Pradesh director general of police about cases pending against Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) activist Medha Patkar before it decides whether her passport should be impounded or not.
According to reports, the office had in October issued a showcause notice to the activist asking her why her passport should not be impounded for failing to disclose information regarding cases pending against her.
In the notice, the RPO noted that nine criminal cases have been registered against her – three in Barwani, one in Alirajpur and five in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh – and are still pending adjudication. Most of the cases pertained to rioting and obstructing government servants from carrying out their duty and were filed during the NBA agitation, which began in 1985.
Patkar was reissued a passport in March 2017, which is valid till March 29, 2027.
The notice was issued after journalist Sanjeev Jha in June filed a complaint claiming that Patkar had obtained her passport by “concealing” material facts.
Speaking to the Times of India, Patkar said that she had sent a reply to the RPO saying that at the time she applied for the renewal, there were no cases pending against her. “After I sent the reply, they (RPO) sent another notice, giving me 15 days to produce documentary evidence for the cases. I have the documents of some of the cases but not all,” she told the newspaper. “These were not cases against me alone, but against a large group of people. I don’t even remember appearing in Khandwa,” the activist said.
A source from the passport office told Times of India that Patkar had replied saying that most of the cases were FIRs and not pending in court. While the Maharashtra police have responded saying that no cases were pending, the office is now seeking information from the Madhya Pradesh DGP.
Section 10(3) of the Passport Act states that “the passport authority may impound or cause to be impounded or revoke a passport or travel document Section(e) if proceedings in respect of an offence alleged to have been committed by the holder of the passport or travel document are pending before a criminal court in India”.
Section 12 of the act states whoever “knowingly furnishes any false information or suppresses any material information with a view to obtaining a passport or travel document shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to Rs 5,000 or with both.”
(With PTI inputs)