Passport forgery threat to national security: Delhi High Court

NEW DELHI: The forgery of passport is a threat to national and international security, the Delhi High Court said today while dismissed the bail plea of a woman, arrested for allegedly running an organised crime syndicate and a fake passport racket.

Justice Manmohan made the remark while denying bail to one Honey Sharma, facing trial for allegedly committing various offences under the Passport Act and the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

"A passport is a government property and is given by the state to its citizen so as to provide him with an identity proof. In the court's opinion, any endeavour on the part of any individual to forge, falsify or tamper with any passport has serious consequences in as much as it constitutes a threat to not only national but international security also.

"It also diminishes a national symbol as well as the value of identity papers issued by a particular country and results in every citizen of that country being subjected to much greater scrutiny and harassment," the court observed.

Sharma, evading arrest since 2009, was arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police in January this year. The police had arrested other accused including her husband Vipin Sharma in 2009.

The court denied her bail accepting prosecution counsel Manoj Ohri's argument that she is a member of an "organised crime syndicate" along with her husband, brothers and brother-in-law.