New Delhi, Sep 30 The Bombay High Court on Tuesday offered a big relief to actress Rhea Chakraborty by directing the NCB to return her passport that was seized in 2020.
The passport was seized by the NCB in connection with a drugs case linked to the death of the late actor and Chakraborty’s former partner, Sushant Singh Rajput.
Saying that there was no reason to doubt the actress’s intentions, a bench, headed by Justice Neela Gokhale, ordered the restoration of her passport with some conditions.
The court said she must attend every hearing unless exempted by the trial court.
Chakraborty was also directed to provide details of her travel schedule, including flight and hotel details, to the prosecution at least four days before flying out of the country, the court said.
While ordering restoration of her passport, the HC said she must share her mobile number, keep her phone active, and inform the probe agencies immediately upon her return.
The actress was arrested on September 8, 2020, by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the drugs case associated with Rajput's death on June 14, 2020. She was later granted bail on the condition of depositing her passport with the NCB.
She recently filed a fresh plea through her lawyer, Ayaz Khan, requesting the release of her passport for pursuing professional work abroad.
The actress claimed that due to the seizure of her passport, she could not freely pursue professional assignments abroad.
Her counsel argued before the bench that the actress had followed all court instructions in the past and intends to continue doing so in future.
The HC accepted his plea and noted that the other accused in the case had also been granted similar relief earlier.
The NCB opposed the plea, arguing that being a celebrity, she should not be given special treatment and warned that there was a risk of her absconding.
The probe agency’s lawyer said there was a threat that the actress may never return to the country after her foreign trip.
--IANS
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