Srinagar, May 8 (JKNS): The High Court has upheld the trial court’s decision declining release of passport to Mohammad Najeeb Goni due to the pendency of an FIR related to alleged land grabbing.
Details available with news agency JKNS reads, Goni had challenged the charge sheet arising from FIR No. 28/2018, registered under Sections 420, 447-A, and 120-B of the RPC, as well as the proceedings before the Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class Tangmarg, and the December 30, 2023 order that rejected his plea for passport release.
According to the charge sheet, Crime Branch Kashmir received complaints from residents of Bangil Tangmarg alleging that Goni, in connivance with land brokers, encroached upon around 25 kanals of state land in Dhobiwan Kunzar by placing sign boards and stone blocks to illegally convert it into saleable plots.
The investigation revealed that approximately 24 kanals of state land scattered within Goni’s proprietary land was encroached and later demolished by revenue authorities following FIR registration.
Goni argued that a report by Crime Branch and revenue officials found the land vacant, claiming this nullified the allegations of encroachment. However, Justice Sanjay Dhar dismissed the plea, stating that eviction of an illegal occupier does not negate the offence.
The court observed that revenue records indicate Goni’s illegal occupation of the state land and added that mere retrieval of the land does not absolve the alleged illegal act. “For the foregoing reasons, I do not find any merit in this petition. The same is, accordingly, dismissed,” the court ruled.
However, the court allowed the petitioner to approach the trial court for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for issuance or renewal of his passport. (JKNS)
