J&K HC allows Srinagar student to complete MBBS in Iran after passport impounded over father’s 1997 case

The J&K High Court has directed authorities to revive the passport of a Srinagar woman pursuing an MBBS course in Iran, saying depriving her of the opportunity to complete her studies would jeopardise her career.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal passed the order on Thursday while hearing the student’s appeal against the impounding of her passport.

“The present order is being passed in the peculiar circumstances of the case, particularly having regard to the fact that the appellant has already completed half of her MBBS course under the permission granted by the respondents,” the court observed.

“Depriving her of the opportunity to complete the remaining course would jeopardise her career in completing her MBBS course,” it said.

The court directed the authorities to revive the passport for the remaining period required for the student to complete her MBBS course.

The student, who is enrolled at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Kish Campus, returned to India earlier this year amid the ongoing Iran conflict. Her passport was subsequently impounded in May following what authorities described as an adverse police report.

According to the case before the court, the action was linked to a case registered against her father in 1997. The police report reportedly alleged that the student could join “anti-India forces” and thereby pose a threat to the security and sovereignty of the country.

The student’s passport had been renewed in October 2024 for 10 years. She had completed two years of her MBBS course on the basis of the passport and the admission granted by the Iranian university, which the court was informed is recognised by the National Medical Commission.

Her counsel, advocate Salih Pirzada, submitted that the student was not involved in any criminal activity and argued that the authorities had relied on an adverse police verification report without disclosing its contents or the material supporting it.

He argued that the assertion of an adverse report would cast a stigma on the student’s academic and professional career without any supporting material being disclosed.

The High Court, however, left it open to the authorities to conduct a fresh security assessment before reviving the passport and impose conditions deemed necessary based on their expert assessment.

“Before revival of the passport, [the authorities can] conduct a fresh security audit and impose such conditions as may be considered necessary on the basis of their expert assessment,” the court said.

The bench subsequently disposed of the appeal, directing that the passport be revived for the period required for completion of the student’s MBBS course.