The High Court in a verdict on Wednesday asked the Department of Immigration and Passports not to hold back passports on the excuse for pending criminal cases against applicants.
The bench of Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice Md Bazlur Rahman sentenced Sunamganj regional passport officer Md Moniruzzaman, to stay in the courtroom till the court ended its proceedings on the day for his refusal to issue a passport on an excuse that a criminal case was pending against him.聽
The High Court on March 3, 2024, after hearing a writ petition filed by Hussain Ahmed directed the director general of the department of immigration and passports to issue a passport in favour of the applicant in 15 days.聽聽聽
On April 3, 2024, the passport officer informed applicant Hussain Ahmed from Birgaon of Sunamganj that his passport could not be issued following the Bangladesh Passport Order 1973 as the police verification found a 2017 criminal case pending against him with lower court.
Hussain Ahmed鈥檚 passport was issued on June 4, ahead of June 6鈥檚 contempt proceedings against Md Moniruzzaman, the assistant director of the Sunamganj regional passports office, according to his lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir.聽 聽
The court delivered a verdict stating that mere pending of a criminal case cannot be barrier to issue the passport of a citizen.
The High Court delivered the verdict after disposing of a petition filed by Hussain Ahmed seeking punishment for the passport officer for denying his passport flouting its directive.