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The Bombay High Court has stated that only the passport authority of India has the power to impound passports. The Court was hearing a petition filed by businessman Jignesh Shah seeking return of his passport.
Shah was charged under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy and cheating besides provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act for alleged abuse of official position and is the prime accused in the multi-crore NSEL fraud. The 63 Moons (formerly known as Financial Technology India Limited) founder was booked for ‘hatching a conspiracy to cheat Project and Equipment Corporation of India Limited (PEC Ltd) and siphon the funds’. The CBI had impounded Shah’s passport while searching his house on March 13, 2014. After his bail application, Shah was restricted from leaving India. He filed an application before the special court seeking return of his passport, which was rejected. Later, he filed an application before the High Court against the September 2017 Special Court order. Justice Naik, after hearing arguments, directed the CBI to return the passport, stating that they only had powers to seize the passport and not to impound it. The CBI should have handed the passport to the Passport Authority under Section 10 (3) of the Passport Act. Moreover, the Court added that now that the passport has been returned to Shah, he still has to adhere to the bail conditions.
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