After a prolonged legal battle and numerous delays, Mehbooba Mufti has finally received a passport with a 10-year validity.
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Mehbooba Mufti, the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, has finally received a passport with a 10-year validity period, three years after applying for one. The passport, which expired in 2019, was granted to her just before the deadline set by the Delhi court was set to expire. This development comes after a prolonged legal battle, with Mufti seeking the intervention of external affairs minister S Jaishankar in February this year. The Delhi High Court ordered the passport administration to provide the decision within three months in March. The passport given to Mufti is valid from June 1, 2024, to May 31, 2033.
Legal Battle and Delays
Mehbooba Mufti’s passport expired in 2019, and she applied for its renewal in 2020. However, there was a considerable delay in issuing a new passport to her despite reminders, leading her to seek legal intervention. The Delhi court, after hearing her plea, ordered the passport authority to make a decision within three months. The court’s order came in March this year, and the matter was sent to the passport officer in Jammu and Kashmir for reconsideration. Mufti had highlighted the need for the passport to take her 80-year-old mother on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Passport Issued Two Days Before Hearing
The issuance of Mehbooba Mufti’s passport comes just two days ahead of a hearing in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. The court is set to hear a plea filed by her daughter, Iltija Mufti, challenging the decision of the passport office to grant her a country-specific passport. The passport given to Mehbooba Mufti is valid from June 1, 2024, to May 31, 2033. However, Iltija Mufti received a restricted and conditional passport valid for two years, specifically for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in April.
Struggle Against Denial
Mehbooba Mufti’s passport renewal faced multiple obstacles. Initially, the Jammu and Kashmir Police’s adverse report led to the denial of passports for Mufti, her mother, and her daughter. Mufti claimed that the denial was arbitrary and that the rejection of passport applications, including those of journalists and students, under the pretext of national interest had become the norm in Jammu and Kashmir. The legal battle sought to challenge these arbitrary rejections and secure the right to travel for Mufti and her family members.
