The Bombay High Court directed that Kangana Ranaut needs to make requisite corrections to her application for her passport to be renewed. The Court added that her application has factual inconsistencies and once those are corrected, the officers would renew the document and take decisions as per procedure.
Kangana had moved the High Court seeking directions to authorities to renew her passport so she can leave the country for a film's shoot. Her plea stated that the passport authority objected to the renewal citing an FIR registered against her by the Bandra police. In an earlier hearing, the Bombay High Court had called Kangana's application 'vague'.
The FIR, in question, was registered by the Bandra police against Kangana Ranaut and her sister Rangoli Chandel for hateful tweets and sedition.
Giving an instance of the "factual inconsistencies" in Kangana's application, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Anil Singh, who appeared for the Regional Passport Office (RPO), told the bench that her application said that she had criminal cases pending against her.
PTI reported that Singh also said that only an FIR has been filed against her and criminal proceedings haven't begun.
Singh told the HC that once Kangana's counsel, advocate Rizwan Siddiquee, clarified the statement and further, the actor made the necessary chances, the passport office would "expeditiously" take a decision.
"The learned ASG on instructions submits that application does not mention the correct facts, inasmuch as, it is stated in the said application that criminal cases are pending against the petitioner (Ranaut), when in fact only FIRs are registered against the petitioner," the HC observed.
"He (Singh) submits that in case the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner is ready to make a statement that no criminal case is pending against the petitioner and make appropriate corrections in the pending application before the Respondent Passport Authority, the said Authority is ready to consider the application for renewal of passport, in accordance with the Passport Act/rules/ procedure, expeditiously."Bombay High Court Order
Advocate Siddiquee agreed that the actor would make the changes, and clarified that there were no pending criminal proceedings against her.
During a previous hearing, advocate Siddiquee had said that shooting for her film Dhaakad had been scheduled already in Budapest and the producers were suffering losses due to Kangana's inability to travel.
(With inputs from PTI)
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