Jharkhand Minister Irfan Ansari and 3 other MLAs have been denied permission to travel abroad by court

The court stated that under the current circumstances, it would not be appropriate to return their passports or allow them to travel abroad. The three MLAs had sought permission to attend an international trade conference in England.

Kolkata: The Kolkata High Court has refused permission to Jharkhand Minister Irfan Ansari and two Congress MLAs, Naman Vikas Kongadi and Rajesh Kachhap, to travel abroad.

A single bench of Justice Amrita Sinha, accepting the state government's objections, dismissed the petitions of the three. The court stated that under the current circumstances, it would not be appropriate to return their passports or allow them to travel abroad. The three MLAs had sought permission to attend an international trade conference in England.

Minister Irfan Ansari denied permission to travel abroad
During the hearing, advocate Jayant Samant, representing the state government, objected, stating that a case is pending against the three MLAs in the Supreme Court and they are not regularly appearing there. Therefore, if their passports are returned, there would be a risk that they might escape the trial process by going abroad.

The High Court dismissed the petition.
The court agreed with this argument and stated that the MLAs must first cooperate with all legal procedures before any future relief could be considered. Advocate Ayan Bhattacharya, representing the MLAs, argued that the state cabinet had officially approved their travel to England, but the court rejected this argument.

Arrested by Bengal Police
It is noteworthy that on July 30, 2022, the three MLAs were arrested by the Bengal Police in Panchla, Howrah district, with Rs 50 lakh in cash. They were later granted conditional bail in this case, and the court ordered the confiscation of their passports.