'Right To Travel Abroad Is Fundamental Right': Jharkhand High Court Modifies Bail Condition Ex-MLA Kamlesh Kumar Singh's Wife, Permits Travel

The Jharkhand High Court has modified the bail conditions imposed on the wife of former Jharkhand MLA and Minister Kamlesh Kumar Singh, permitting her to travel to the United States of America or the United Kingdom for treatment of her advanced liver disease.A Single Judge Bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi was hearing a petition seeking modification of the order dated 13 May 2014 passed in B.A. No. 3581 of 2014, insofar as it required the petitioner to deposit her passport and restricted her travel abroad.Background:The petitioner, who is an accused in a disproportionate assets case in connection with allegations against her husband, had been granted regular bail earlier. Her grievance in the present petition was confined to the bail condition restraining her from travelling abroad and requiring deposit of her passport.The petitioner, aged about 58 years, submitted that she was suffering from a serious and life-threatening liver disease. A liver biopsy conducted at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, New Delhi, on 25 June 2025 revealed Laennec cirrhosis substage-4B, an advanced stage of chronic liver disease and a medically recognised pre-cancerous stage. It was stated that her close relatives were residing in the USA and the UK, and that she wished to travel to either of those countries for better treatment. She accordingly sought release of her passport. It was further submitted that the petitioner had been cooperating with the trial and had not violated any condition of bail. It was further stated that out of more than 100 witnesses, only 46 had been examined so far.The CBI opposed the prayer, contending that the petitioner was an accused in a disproportionate assets case and that the travel restriction had been imposed by a coordinate Bench while granting bail.The High Court took note of the medical reports placed on record, issued by a reputed institution, namely the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, New Delhi. The Court noted that the reports confirmed that the petitioner was suffering from cirrhosis with probable underlying autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cholangitis overlap, and Laennec cirrhosis substage-4B. The Court also recorded that the petitioner had deposited her passport in 2014 pursuant to the bail order and that there was no allegation that she had failed to cooperate with the trial or had attempted to influence any witness.Placing reliance on the decisions of the Supreme Court in Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India and Satish Chandra Verma v. Union of India, the High Court observed that the right to travel abroad is an important basic human right and forms part of the fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution. The High Court held:“For the aforesaid facts, reasons and analysis and considering that the petitioner is having ailment of Cirrhosis which is at of stage 4B and to travel abroad is the fundamental right of the petitioner and that has been held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Satish Chandra Verma and Maneka Gandhi (supra) and in that view of the matter, the order dated 13.05.2014 passed by the Coordinate Bench of this Court in B.A No.3581 of 2014 can be modified further.”Accordingly, the Jharkhand High Court directed that the passport of the petitioner be released in her favour. The Court further directed that, at the time of obtaining her passport, the petitioner shall file an undertaking before the concerned court specifying, for each proposed foreign visit, the period of travel and the date of her return to India. The petitioner was also directed to inform the court upon her return.It was clarified that the passport shall be released subject to the condition that the petitioner shall seek prior permission of the concerned court for every instance of travel abroad.Case Title: Madhu Singh v. The State of Jharkhand through Central Bureau of InvestigationCase Number: Cr. M.P. No. 1829 of 2025.Appearance: Senior Advocate Mr. Ajit Kumar, assisted by Ms. Neha Mehta, Ms. Akriti Shree and Ms. Aprajita Bhardwaj, appeared for the petitioner. ASG Mr. Prashant Pallav and Ms. Shreya Shukla appeared for the CBI.Click Here To Read/Download Order

'Right To Travel Abroad Is Fundamental Right': Jharkhand High Court Modifies Bail Condition Ex-MLA Kamlesh Kumar Singh's Wife, Permits Travel

Rushil Batra

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