The Delhi High Court has permitted a 64-year-old woman, accused in a 2021 abetment of suicide case, to temporarily take back her passport to travel to the United States for her son's engagement and court marriage.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav however directed the woman to provide furniture or other essential items worth Rs. 2 lakh to a government school in the city, as part of community service for her delayed compliance with the bail condition to surrender passport.

The Court observed that although the woman had admittedly failed to surrender her passport for over two years despite an express direction in her anticipatory bail order, the lapse appeared to be inadvertent and she had not travelled abroad during the intervening period.

The Court was hearing a plea filed by one Nina Prasad challenging the Trial Court's refusal to temporarily release her passport. She sought permission to travel to the US between September 25 and October 11, to attend her son's engagement ceremony and court marriage. She placed her travel itinerary, return ticket and e-invite on record.

The case arises from an FIR registered in April 2021 for the offence under Section 306 of IPC, concerning the suicide of a woman in September 2020.

The prosecution alleged that the deceased, who was in a live-in relationship with another accused, was subjected to physical, mental and financial exploitation. A suicide note allegedly referred to a person described as “Nina ma'am”, who had telephoned the deceased two days before the incident and informed her that her services would be terminated.

Prasad contended that the deceased was not her employee but worked for a manpower-supply agency providing personnel to the company. She also contended that the only allegation against her was the telephone conversation.

She was granted anticipatory bail on May 31, 2024, subject to several conditions, including a direction to surrender her passport “forthwith” and retain it till further orders.

Subsequently, while considering her plea for quashing of the FIR, the High Court had, on August 28, 2024, prima facie observed that the ingredients of Section 306 of IPC were not made out against her.

The investigation later resumed, and Prasad was formally arrested on January 31, before being released as she was already on anticipatory bail.

She subsequently discovered the passport-surrender condition when she sought to travel for her son's wedding. She surrendered the passport before the Trial Court on September 03.

Justice Kaurav rejected her argument that the passport-surrender condition itself was without jurisdiction.

The Court said that what is barred is 'impounding' of a passport, an act reserved exclusively for the Passport Authority under Section 10(3) of the Passports Act, 1967.

It said that a direction requiring an accused to deposit a passport with the court, as an incident of the recognisance furnished for bail, stands on a different footing, and has consistently been treated by courts as a condition that survives until varied by the court that imposed it.

“This Court is accordingly not persuaded that condition (e) of the order dated 31.05.2024 was without jurisdiction,” the Court said.

At the same time, the Court found the case fit for limited relief, noting the woman's age, absence of criminal antecedents apart from the present FIR, permanent residence in Delhi, apology for the lapse and the fact that she had not travelled abroad during the period when her passport remained un-surrendered.

Observing that a relaxation of such nature, found on an admitted, even if inadvertent, default, cannot be granted without some countervailing measure, the Court said:

“Courts exercising jurisdiction over bail conditions have, in appropriate cases, innovated conditions in the interest of justice by directing accused persons to render community service, provided such a condition is voluntarily offered and calibrated to the capacity and willingness of the person concerned.”

“As an initial step, the petitioner shall, without delay and in any event by tomorrow, get in touch with a Government school situated within the NCT of Delhi, communicate the substance of this order, and request the school to indicate its requirement of essential furniture or other items, of a value of Rs. 2,00,000/-, by way of a proportionate and voluntarily offered measure of community accountability in lieu of the default noted above,” it added.

The Court directed the woman to place on record, before the Trial Court, proof of having communicated with the school, along with the school's response.

The Court clarified that the passport's release would not await completion of the donation and that once the woman takes the initial steps directed by the Court and places proof thereof on record, the Trial Court must immediately release her passport.

The woman has been directed to surrender the passport again within seven days of returning to India.

Title: NINA PRASAD v. STATE OF NCT OF DELHI & ANR

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