Mumbai court allows Rhea Chakraborty to travel to Dubai for IIFA awards

A special court in Mumbai has allowed Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty to travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dubai to attend the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards from June 2 to June 5 [Rhea Chakraborty vs Union of India]. .The special court designated to hear cases under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act allowed Chakraborty's plea subject to deposit of ₹1 lakh as surety. The Court also ordered the authorities to hand over Chakraborty's passport to her."The Investigating Officer is hereby directed to handover the passport to the applicant/accused, who is hereby permitted to travel to Abu Dhabi, Dubai for a limited period from June 2 to June 5," said special judge A A Joglekar in his order..The judge further asked the actress to mark her presence before the Investigating Officer and submit her passport with the Investigating Officer upon her return on June 6, by 5 pm.She was also asked to report to the Indian Embassy daily till she is in Dubai and submit her attendance sheet before the special court on return..Chakraborty had moved the special court through her advocate Satish Maneshinde seeking her passport and permission to travel to Dubai to attend the awards ceremony from June 2 to 8."The applicant has been invited by the Director and co-founder of IIFA to walk the green carpet and give away an award on June 3, 2022 and also to host an interaction during the main award ceremony on June 4, 2022," the plea stated.It further highlighted the fact that her criminal prosecution and other surrounding circumstances have already given significant setbacks to her acting career."She has also incurred significant financial losses. Hence, opportunities such as these are extremely important for her future prospects in the Film Industry and greatly impact her ability to earn her own livelihood. It would not be out of place to mention that her aged parents are also financially dependent on her," the plea stated further stressing on the fact that she is entitled to the right to travel abroad, which has been envisaged under the right to life (Article 21)..Chakraborty was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) under the provisions of the NDPS Act, in September 2020. She was named in the case after the death of her alleged boyfriend and actor Sushant Singh Rajput. However, the Bombay High Court had granted her bail in October 2020.One of the bail conditions in that order was to hand over her passport to the IO and to seek prior permission from the special court before leaving India. Since then, this is her first visit abroad..Advocate Nikhil Maneshinde appeared for Rhea, while the NCB was represented by special public prosecutor Atul Sarpande. Recently, the Delhi High Court had allowed another Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez to travel to UAE for IIFA awards.