HC comes to aid of SIMI activist's mother

Madras High Court has quashed an order of Regional Passport Officer rejecting passport to a woman because her son was an activist of banned SIMI and detained in France, holding that cannot be a ground when she was not involved in any unlawful activity.
"The fact that the petitioner is the unfortunate mother of a Students' Islamic Movement of India activist cannot be the ground to deny her passport," Justice K K Sasidharan said in his recent order allowing a petition by Pari alias Fathima.
Quashing the order of the Regional Passport Officer (RPO) here rejecting her application based on police report, the Judge gave the woman liberty to make a fresh application.

In case there was no adverse police report against the Petitioner other than her position as the mother of a member of a SIMI, the application should be considered by the RPO on merits and in accordance with law in three months, he ordered.
The petitioner submitted that she had sent her passport for renewal on April 18, 2011 and it was renewed and dispatched. But as she had shifted her residence by then, the passport had returned undelivered.
After seeking explanation, the RPO sought fresh verification from the City Police Commissioner who said her son, Mohammed Riaz, was arrested in France for his alleged connection with SIMI and hence should be given passport.

She then approached the High Court, which directed the RPO to consider her application fresh.

By then she had moved to another locality in Madurai Rural and SP Rural in the police verification report said there was likelihood of her proceeding to France to meet her son and other SIMI activists and it would cause threat to the nation, based on which the RPO rejected her plea for second time.
She filed the present petition saying her son had deserted the family and she was going only to Dubai to see her daughter and grandchildren and sought a direction to issue her passport.

In his order, the Judge said: "Police have no case that the petitioner was also involved in unlawful activities... The Passport was originally renewed and it was retained only on account of change of address of the Petitioner."
If the Petitioner was involved in any case, the police would be justified in submitting the report before the RPO not to issue passport to her. The SP's report does not point out any finger against the petitioner.
Disposing of the petition, he directed the woman to apply afresh for passport, producing necessary documents.