Srinagar, Nov. 28 -- The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has reiterated that holding a passport is a constitutional right and a citizen is not required to demonstrate any "pressing need" to travel abroad in order to obtain a 'no objection certificate'.

The ruling was delivered by Justice Sanjay Dhar while deciding a petition challenging an order of an anti-corruption court that had rejected an accused's application for NOC for passport renewal.

In a detailed judgment, Justice Dhar held that "it is a settled law that every citizen has a legal right to hold a passport and that the said right can be taken away only in accordance with law."

Relying on the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Maneka Gandhi vs Union of India, the cour...