Court orders fresh passports to attend court cases

Srivatsan, an electrical engineer residing in the US, had married a doctor from India. But after six months of cohabitation, the wife returned to India. Subsequently, she preferred a complaint against Srivatsan and his parents at the all-women police station in Thirumangalam.

Following this, an FIR was registered against the trio under the Dowry Prohibition Act. This led to Srivatsan obtaining anticipatory bail while his parents were granted interim bail. As part of the divorce plea, the Principal Judge, Family Court, Chennai, ordered an interim maintenance to his wife. Thereafter, his failure to appear before the courts had led to the police issuing a lookout notice against him. Srivatsan’s plea to recall the lookout notice was also dismissed. 

Based on this, he moved the high court saying that the lookout notice was preventing him from getting a fresh passport to proceed to India for his appearance before the high court, family court and the Xth Metropolitan Magistrate Court. 

A division bench comprising Justices R Sudhakar and S Vaidyanathan, before whom the plea came, directed the Indian embassy to consider issuance of a fresh passport without taking note of the lookout notice. 

The bench further directed Srivatsan to file an affidavit of undertaking before the Indian embassy that he would appear before the high court and other courts in all pending proceedings. The bench posted the matter for further hearing to April 18.