New Delhi: A Delhi court has dismissed Indian Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib’s plea for permanent return of his passport, holding that the request sought deletion of a bail condition under the garb of modification.Chib was granted bail on Feb 28 in a case related to a protest at India AI Impact Summit. The court had directed him to surrender his passport as a condition of bail.His counsel argued that Chib had cooperated with the investigation, had no intention of absconding and was not considered a flight risk by the trial court. With the charge sheet filed, retaining his passport served no useful purpose, the defence submitted. The prosecution, represented by Prashant Prakash, opposed the plea, arguing that surrendering the passport was a deliberate condition to secure Chib’s presence and ensure a fair investigation. It submitted that he had disclosed neither any imminent travel plans nor any exigency warranting modification.The court observed that Chib had failed to establish any extreme hardship caused by retaining his passport and could seek its temporary release if he wished to travel abroad.The court said Chib must first seek permission from the trial court to travel abroad and, if allowed, apply for temporary release of his passport with an undertaking to deposit it again in accordance with the Feb 28 bail order.
