Telangana HC orders status quo on impounding KTR’s passport

The BRS leader had approached the court over a show cause notice served to him after the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sought to impound his passport in relation to the Formula E case.

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Tuesday, October 27, ordered status quo on the passport authority’s proceedings against Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao in relation to the Formula E case.

The BRS leader had approached the court over a show-cause notice served to him after the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sought to impound his passport.

KTR’s counsel Gandra Mohan Rao said the notice was issued as part of a ‘premeditated plan.’ He also said that the ACB sought to impound the passport after filing a chargesheet in the case.

Justice EV Venugopal asked the ACB standing counsel if the bureau had filed a memo in the trial court seeking direction to impound KTR’s passport. The standing counsel stated that he would secure the instructions in the matter but maintained that the details of the case against KTR were passed on to the passport authorities as per provisions of the law.

Additional Solicitor General B Narasimha Sharma informed the court that only a show-cause notice was issued to KTR asking why his passport should not be impounded. He added that the notice can be challenged under the provisions of the Passport Act.

No directions to impound the passport were issued, he said.

Notices were issued to the Ministry of External Affairs, the Regional Passport Officer of Hyderabad and the Director General of ACB. The matter has been posted for further hearing on November 6.