Allahabad High Court relief for BBC journo denied passport NOC for reporting on mosque demolition

The Allahabad High Court recently granted relief to Mohammad Seraj Ali, a BBC journalist named in a first information report (FIR) for reporting on the demolition of a mosque in Barabanki, which had led to the impounding of his passport and travel restrictions..Seraj filed the present plea challenging two orders, one from May 5, 2025, and another from August 21, 2023 by which Barabanki courts had rejected his request for a no objection certificate (NOC) needed to issue or renew his passport.Upon examining the facts of the case in light of the judgment in Mohammad Ayaz v State of UP, Justice Abdul Moin held that the rejection of Seraj's request for an NOC for passport issuance without reference to the applicable office memorandums dated October 10, 2019 and August 25, 1993 reflected a clear non-application of mind by the trial court.Accordingly, the Court quashed the trial court orders..The Court also issued the following directions:- Seraj may file a fresh application for passport renewal/re-issue before the Regional Passport Officer within 20 days;- Upon receipt of the same, the Passport Authority must decide the application within one month, post verification and due formalities, based on the certified copy of this order;- Prior permission must be sought from the trial court before any travel abroad and the applicant must adhere to the trial court’s schedule and conditions;The Court further directed that a copy of the order shall be provided to the Deputy Solicitor General of India and the State's Additional Government Advocate for onward communication to the concerned authorities..The report by Seraj was published when he was a journalist at news portal, The Wire.On May 17, 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, a mosque in Ram Sanehi Ghat in Barabanki district was demolished by the district administration, allegedly as an illegal structure. The following day, various national and international media houses including BBC Hindi, The Guardian and ANI reported the incident.On June 22, 2021, The Wire published a video report titled “How a Mosque in UP’s Barabanki was Demolished” co-authored by Seraj and his colleague Mukul Singh Chauhan. An FIR was subsequently lodged on June 24, 2021 against several individuals including Seraj under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)..In September 2021, Seraj resigned from The Wire and joined BBC India as a video journalist.Meanwhile, on May 22, 2022, a charge sheet was filed in the case against Seraj and cognizance was taken by the trial court.Seraj, who had disclosed the pending criminal case, applied for renewal of his passport on September 30, 2022 as it was due to expire in April 2023. However, the Regional Passport Office required an NOC or a judicial order from the trial court.The same was denied by the trial court leading to the plea before the High Court..Before the High Court, Seraj’s counsel argued that the NOC was wrongly denied as the trial court ignored key government guidelines from two office memorandums which outline how NOCs should be handled even in cases with pending criminal matters.Reliance was placed on the recent judgment of Mohammad Ayaz @ Anas v. State of UP wherein a similar rejection was set aside for not considering the said office memorandums. Taking into consideration the facts of the present case, the Court quashed the lower court orders and granted relief to Seraj..Advocates Areeb Uddin Ahmed, Arpit Verma and Waseeq Uddin Ahmed appeared for Seraj.Senior Advocate SB Pandey appeared for the State..[Read Order]