Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy | Photo Credit: File Photo Justice V.R.K. Krupa Sagar of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Wednesday directed the Special Court for Trial of Criminal Cases Relating to Elected MPs and MLAs in Vijayawada (Special Court) to issue a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) / permission to the former Chief Minister, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, to obtain a passport for a period of five years.With this, the court disposed of the petition filed by Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy by duly mentioning that the rest of the conditions imposed by the Special Court stand intact.Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy had moved the Special Judge for CBI Cases in Hyderabad and filed necessary applications for passport, and the said court directed the Special Regional Passport Officer (RPO) – Vijayawada to issue a passport for five years, subject to certain conditions, but the RPO sought a NOC from the Special Court since a case filed by the Municipal Administration Minister P. Narayana under Sections 499 to 502 and 34 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code was pending.At this juncture, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy filed a criminal miscellaneous petition in the Special Court for permission to travel to the United Kingdom (U.K.) to celebrate his daughter’s birthday, from September 3 to 25, but it (the court) allowed the grant of NOC for issuance of a fresh passport / renewal only for one year on complying the conditions thereof.Aggrieved by it, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy filed the present petition in the high court, wherein he contended that the Special Court’s permission to sanction the issuance of a fresh passport / renewal for just one year was contradictory with the CBI Court order to grant the passport with a validity of five years.He maintained that the excessive conditions imposed by the Special Court violate his fundamental rights enshrined in Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution, which guarantee the right to personal liberty, including the right to travel, and that there was no flight risk as well as on previous occasions, he complied with all conditions and went abroad and returned to the country. The high court gave its nod for the issue of a NOC to Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy for obtaining a regular passport for five years by taking due note of the averments of the petitioner. Published – September 11, 2024 07:23 pm IST