MEA to hear Dawood’s family on travel restrictions

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) would give a hearing to the family members of Iqbal Kaskar,brother of gangster Dawood Ibrahim,regarding restrictions on their overseas travel,the Bombay High Court was told on Tuesday.

Iqbal’s wife Rizwana and their four children had challenged the remark on their passports that specifies that they can travel only between United Arab Emirates and India. The restriction had been introduced on MEA’s instructions. On Tuesday,the government lawyer told the court that the MEA would give the family a hearing on January 18 after which the division Bench of Justice Ranjana Desai and Justice Mridula Bhatkar disposed the petition with the instruction to the concerned MEA officer to “pass an appropriate reasoned order”.

The court also gave the Kaskar family the liberty to move the appropriate authority in case of any grievance. Iqbal Kaskar was deported to India years ago and was acquitted in Sara Sahara illegal construction case. Iqbal’s passport was impounded when he was deported and his application for issue of fresh passport was rejected last year. He has filed a separate application in the High Court.