CHENNAI:
Madras high court has quashed a Chennai regional
passport officer (RPO) order impounding the passport of woman film-maker
Leena Manimekalai, and directed him to release it within a week.
The passport was impounded in view of a pending criminal defamation complaint filed by film director
Susi Ganesan and 'adverse report from law enforcing agency' against her. Susi Ganesan filed the case after she levelled #MeToo allegation against him.
Justice
M Dhandapani
reversed the order, saying: "For an offence, alleged to have been committed under Section 500 (criminal defamation) of IPC, that too on a private complaint, the passport, without any rhyme or reason, after a lapse of four years from the date of issuance of passport has taken the extreme step of cancelling the passport of the petitioner." The act of the passport authority appears to be very strange. Offences of criminal nature, which have far-reaching consequences and more penal in nature, which affects the society, wherein persons who have committed such heinous offences, being holders of passport, in such of those cases, seldom the passport authority, invoke such powers, Justice Dhandapani said.
"This does not augur well with this court. However, judicial discipline warrants this court to refrain from dealing any further on this aspect," the judge added. Allowing her plea, the judge said: "Section 10 (3) (e) of the Passports Act pertaining to pendency of criminal proceedings in any court of law committed by the holder of the passport is pressed into service to claim that the pending criminal case before the trial court was the reason for impounding the passport."
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