In a bid to prevent persons fleeing the country without repaying the loans availed from a financial company or banks, the Madras High Court has asked the Union government to modify the Passports Act.
Chennai:
This will prevent the person concerned from travelling abroad without the knowledge of such financial institutions, he said. “It can also be made clear that till the loan amount is settled, the passport will not be handed over to the person and in case of failure in repayment, the passport may be temporarily cancelled.”
“The Passports Act and rules and can also be amended to the effect that in case of passport renewal, necessary endorsement should be obtained from the banks/financial institutions. Alternatively, suitable orders should be obtained from the jurisdictional court or an appropriate forum,” the judge stressed.
The case pertains to S Mangalam of Manamelgudi taluk in Pudukkottai district, who had submitted that she joined as a second grade Anganwadi employee on June 28, 1999. She came to know that she was removed from service permanently with effect from September 19, 1999, among other reasons that she had went abroad without any information or notice.
During the hearing, however, Mangalam had stated that she had not gone abroad and produced a passport in which there was no endorsement about her travel. But a subsequent police enquiry, as ordered by the court, revealed that she had visited Singapore using another person’s passport. Justice Vaidyanathan, on noting that from the overall facts and circumstances of the case, said it was apparent that the petitioner has, knowingly and wantonly, misled the court with an intention to get her termination order quashed.
The judge, on directing the passport authorities to investigate and to take necessary action against the petitioner for travelling abroad with a fake passport, directed the State to withdraw the ration card given to the petitioner and her relative, who provided the passport to the petitioner.
Justice S Vaidyanathan, while sentencing a woman Anganwadi worker to judicial custody for a week for using her relative’s passport to travel abroad, said: “The government is expected to modify the rules regarding surrender of an individual’s passport to the concerned institution from which loan has been availed so that the jurisdictional court is aware of non-repayment of the loan amount.”
This will prevent the person concerned from travelling abroad without the knowledge of such financial institutions, he said. “It can also be made clear that till the loan amount is settled, the passport will not be handed over to the person and in case of failure in repayment, the passport may be temporarily cancelled.”
“The Passports Act and rules and can also be amended to the effect that in case of passport renewal, necessary endorsement should be obtained from the banks/financial institutions. Alternatively, suitable orders should be obtained from the jurisdictional court or an appropriate forum,” the judge stressed.
The case pertains to S Mangalam of Manamelgudi taluk in Pudukkottai district, who had submitted that she joined as a second grade Anganwadi employee on June 28, 1999. She came to know that she was removed from service permanently with effect from September 19, 1999, among other reasons that she had went abroad without any information or notice.
During the hearing, however, Mangalam had stated that she had not gone abroad and produced a passport in which there was no endorsement about her travel. But a subsequent police enquiry, as ordered by the court, revealed that she had visited Singapore using another person’s passport. Justice Vaidyanathan, on noting that from the overall facts and circumstances of the case, said it was apparent that the petitioner has, knowingly and wantonly, misled the court with an intention to get her termination order quashed.
The judge, on directing the passport authorities to investigate and to take necessary action against the petitioner for travelling abroad with a fake passport, directed the State to withdraw the ration card given to the petitioner and her relative, who provided the passport to the petitioner.