41-ia.2877.2026.doc IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION INTERIM APPLICATION NO.2877 OF 2026 IN CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.648 OF 2007 Abdul Rehman Abdul Gafoor Shaikh ...Applicant Versus The State of Maharashtra ...Respondent Mr. Rahul Arote for the Applicant. Mr. Tanveer Khan, A.P.P. for the Respondent-State. CORAM: BHARATI DANGRE & ASHISH S. CHAVAN, JJ. DATE : 24th AUGUST 2026 P.C. : 1. The applicant, who has filed an Appeal before this Court, being aggrieved by the Judgment and Order dated 13th June 2007 passed by the Special Court under the MCOC Act at Bombay in MCOC Special Case No.3 of 2003, convicting him for the offences punishable under Sections 3(2), 3(1)(ii) of MCOC Act r/w Sections 120B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, has taken out an application seeking permission to travel to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 4th September 2026 to 5th October 2026 and for seeking further direction N. S. Chitnis 1/5 NISHA SANDEEP CHITNIS Digitally signed by NISHA SANDEEP CHITNIS Date: 2026.08.25 19:28:18 +0530 41-ia.2877.2026.doc to the Registrar, City Civil and Sessions Court, Bombay, to return his passport for facilitating his travel. 2. We have heard the learned counsel for the applicant and perused the application. The appeal filed by the applicant is pending before this Court and it came to be admitted on 16th July 2007. During the pendency of the appeal, by an order dated 9th August 2007, the applicant was released on bail and the sentence imposed upon him was suspended. 3. While on bail, on four occasions, the applicant filed distinct applications right in the year 2008, 2010, 2016, 2022 and 2024, when he sought permission to travel abroad i.e. Mecca and Madina (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) for religious purpose and on all these occasions, permission was granted to him. Even this year, the applicant wants to undertake the pilgrimage from 4th September 2026 to 5th October 2026 and he N. S. Chitnis 2/5 41-ia.2877.2026.doc intends to travel through Arabian Tours and Travels. However, the difficulty faced by him is that his passport is deposited with the Registrar, City Civil and Sessions Court, Bombay. He, therefore, seeks permission of this Court to travel abroad as while suspending his sentence and releasing him on bail vide order dated 9th August 2007, this Court had directed that he shall not leave Mumbai without obtaining written permission in advance from the Senior Police Inspector of the concerned Police Station. Pursuant thereto, from time to time when he made applications which were granted, he undertook the pilgrimage and upon his return deposited the passport with the City Civil and Sessions Court, Bombay. Upon renewal of his passport, it is deposited with the Registrar, City Civil and Sessions Court, Bombay and that is the reason why the applicant has approached this Court seeking a direction for return of his passport for ensuring his travel. 4. Though, in the past, permission has been granted to the applicant to travel abroad, in the wake of the pendency of the appeal, N. S. Chitnis 3/5 41-ia.2877.2026.doc since the sentence of the applicant was suspended and he was released on bail did not impose any condition and whenever he had to leave Mumbai, the only condition imposed was that, he should obtain written permission in advance from the Senior Police Inspector of the Police Station and in our view this compliance is sufficient for him to leave the jurisdiction of this Court. Apart from this, since the passport is with the City Civil and Sessions Court, Bombay, we expect the applicant to move an application before the said Court, as the passport is with the Registrar of the City Civil and Sessions Court, Bombay. With this clarification, so that on the next occasion the applicant is not constrained to approach this Court, we grant the necessary permission, subject to the following stipulations:- (i) The applicant in permitted to visit Mecca and Madina (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) from 4th September 2026 to 5th October 2026; (ii) Before undertaking the travel, he shall keep the Investigating Officer updated about his contact number and the address at which he is going to reside in Mecca and Madina; (iii) The passport shall be returned to him, but immediately on his return, he shall deposit the same with the Registrar, City Civil N. S. Chitnis 4/5 41-ia.2877.2026.doc and Sessions Court, Bombay; (iv) The applicant shall give an undertaking to this Court that he shall abide by the date of his return and the affidavit shall be accompanied with the itinerary of his travel, a copy of which shall also be furnished to the concerned Police Station where he is directed to report as a condition of his release on bail. 5. Interim Application is allowed and accordingly disposed of, on the aforesaid terms. . All concerned to act on the authenticated copy of this order. ASHISH S. CHAVAN, J. BHARATI DANGRE, J. N. S. Chitnis 5/5