Law & Justice

High Court Orders Revival of Kashmir Student’s Passport to Complete MBBS in Iran

By Naseer Ganai

The Jammu & Kashmir High Court has ordered the revival of Ibra Khan’s passport so she can finish her MBBS at Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Khan’s passport was impounded after passport authorities received showcause notices on 27 March 2026 and 9 April 2026, citing a CID adverse report linked to an FIR against her father from 1997. The report mentioned “aspersions” against Khan’s father and “apprehensions that she may join anti‑India forces.”

A division bench of Chief Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal ruled that, given Khan had completed half her course, the court would direct the passport to be revived for the remainder of her studies. The court noted its primary concern for national security but limited its intervention to the specific case.

Khan had been issued a passport in October 2024 but had returned to India in 2024 due to regional turmoil. After receiving the notices, her passport was impounded on 4 May 2026. A single‑judge bench had earlier dismissed her petition, stating there was no reason to interfere and citing an alternative remedy under the Passports Act, 1967. Khan then approached the division bench.

Her counsel, Salih Pirzada, argued that the state could not identify a clear reason for the apprehensions, as the case against her father dated back to 1997 while Khan was born in 2005. The division bench requested the CID report and, after review, allowed the appeal, ordering the passport’s revival and allowing authorities to impose conditions or riders as they see fit.