Bombay HC allows rape case convict Shiney Ahuja to get passport renewed for 10 years

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Passport Authority of India not to withhold the renewal of actor and rape convict Shiney Ahuja’s passport on grounds of his pending appeal in High Court. Shiney Ahuja, who has worked in films like Gangster and Woh Lamhe, was convicted on account of rape in 2011. He was granted an imprisonment of seven years, however he is currently out on bail. He was initially prohibited from leaving the country without the court's approval, but this restriction was eventually eased.According to Ahuja's advocate Karamsingh Rajput, the actor is being put through extra difficulty by having his passport renewed for just a year since several nations do not permit Indian nationals with passports having a validity of less than six months to stay there.

A single bench of Justice Amit Borkar, noted that Ahuja had up to this point followed the conditions placed upon his 2011 bail release. He said, "It appears that during pendency of present appeal, passport of the applicant has been renewed six times. It is, therefore, unlikely that the applicant carries flight risk.” The bench said that there had been no breach of bail terms even after the passport was renewed six times. “The applicant has made out a case for direction to the passport authority to renew his passport for ten years,” the HC observed. Additionally, it added that if Ahuja meets the requirements, the pending status of his appeal shouldn't prevent his passport from being extended for another 10 years. Ahuja's domestic help had registered a complaint against him in June 2009, claiming that he had sexually assaulted her at his Mumbai home. Ahuja was then arrested on June 14, 2009. He was found guilty by a trial court of the crime covered by section 376 (punishment for rape) of the Indian Penal Code on March 30, 2011. He was condemned to a seven-year jail term but he had then appealed against the verdict. He was granted bail on April 27, 2011 with a restriction to travel overseas. However, this was later relaxed.