Jharkhand Health Minister Dr. Irfan Ansari’s proposed visit to London, scheduled for November 4, 2024, was called off after the Calcutta High Court refused to release his passport.
The move has triggered political debate in Jharkhand’s corridors of power. Although the Hemant Soren-led state government had cleared Ansari’s foreign trip, the West Bengal government opposed it, arguing that once the passport was released, the minister might not return to India.
Acting on the objection, the Calcutta High Court declined to issue the passport. Ansari said the matter was “purely legal” and would be addressed through due process. He criticised attempts to give the issue a political colour, saying the controversy was being unnecessarily amplified.
He also suggested that prior clearance from the Centre might have prevented the situation, though he stopped short of explaining the reasons behind Bengal’s objection despite Jharkhand’s approval.
Ansari had approached the Calcutta High Court seeking the temporary release of his passport from November 1 to 15, 2025, to attend the World Travel Market event in London from November 4 to 6. The state government had sanctioned the visit, with travel expenses to be borne by the government.
During the hearing, the Bengal government argued that allowing the passport’s release could risk Ansari’s non-return. After considering both sides, Justice Amrita Sinha dismissed the plea, observing that there was no pressing necessity for foreign travel. The minister’s passport has remained in court custody since September 25, 2024.
The passport was seized in connection with a July 30, 2022 case, when Ansari along with Congress MLAs Rajesh Kachhap and Naman Vixal Kongari were arrested in Howrah with about Rs 50 lakh in cash.
Though the Jharkhand High Court later quashed the FIR on March 3, 2023, the West Bengal government challenged the order in the Supreme Court through a Special Leave Petition, which is still pending. As a result, Ansari’s passport continues to be withheld by the court.
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