Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): Iltija Mufti, daughter of former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and president of People's Democratic Party Mehbooba Mufti, approached the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in view of the administration's delay in issuing her a passport. On Thursday, through advocate Jahangir Iqbal Ganai, in a plea in the court, Iltija claimed, "I have to go out of the country for higher studies for which I need a passport. So, I request the court to instruct the Regional Passport Office to issue me a passport as soon as possible." Iltija Mufti accused the J&K administration of inordinately delaying the issuance of a passport. "I submitted my application for renewal of my passport in June last year, but I have not received it yet.
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It is my constitutional right to get a passport and according to the law, the passport should be issued within 30 days," she said in her plea to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. She said that she was previously issued a passport, which was valid till January 2 year. Accordingly, she applied for for its renewal in time. In her plea in the High Court, Iltija said that initially, the status was showing "pending physical police verification". Subsequently, she filed a representation before the CID office, in Srinagar and sent her police verification report. Now the status of the application is showing as "under review at Regional Passport Office," she added.
However, since the passport was not issued till date, the petitioner approached the High Court for relief. "The delay in issuing the passport has affected my freedom, including the right to travel," Iltija told ETV Bharat. "The inaction and delay of the passport officer in this matter does not count in law and should be declared unconstitutional," she added.
