New Delhi: The Delhi High Court today dismissed a plea of sacked IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, facing probe by Enforcement Directorate into alleged financial irregularities, seeking restoration of his passport.
A bench of Justice Rajiv Shakdher rejected the petition of of Modi, who is presently in London, that he be either issued a fresh passport or the revocation of earlier one be held as illegal.
Lalit Modi. AFP.
The regional passport office in Mumbai had revoked Modi’s passport on March 3, 2010 following the probe by the Enforcement Directorate. Earlier, the court had asked the Ministry of External Affairs Ministry, Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Mumbai and Chief Passport Officer (CPO) to respond to the plea of Modi that his passport be restored as it was revoked without following the due process of law.
It was alleged that the passport authorities’ decision to cancel his passport was not in conformity with the provisions of the Passport Act and the fundamental rights enshrined in Constitution.
Modi, who had been summoned several times by the ED in the past, had moved the court through his attorney Mehmood Abdi against the Delhi CPO decision, upholding revocation of his passport by the Mumbai RPO.
The former Indian Premier League chairman, in his petition, had pleaded to the court to summon records of the proceedings held before the RPO and the CPO.
The plea also sought quashing of the order of the passport authorities. The ED had made a request to RPO, Mumbai, that Modi be either called back or his passport be revoked.
PTI
