SRINAGAR: Former J&K chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has approached the high court for issuance of renewed passport, which she alleged was not happening for want for police verification.
In her plea, Mehbooba said that the passport issued to her was valid till May 31, 2019 and she had applied for its renewal on December 11 last year.
“The passport, as per the instruction manual, was expected to be dispatched within 30 days,” she said in her plea.
“After the receipt of the application, complete in all respects, the Regional Passport Office sought police verification from additional director general of police, CID, and senior superintendent of police, Srinagar district,” she said.
Even after the passage of more than a month, the passport was not dispatched. She then found out that, her case is not moving as physical police verification was pending. Mehbooba said she then made a representation to the passport officer, stating that even though more than a month had elapsed, the (police verification) report sought by him has not been furnished, notwithstanding the guidelines issued by the Union of India mandating that police verification must be completed within a period of 21 days.
“Despite the representation, it appears from the record that the additional DGP, CID, for reasons unknown, has not forwarded to the RPO the police verification report,” she said in her plea, while seeking a direction to the authorities concerned to issue the passport in her favour expeditiously.