Bombay HC Directs FRRO To Process Exit Permit Of US National
· Free Press Journal
Mumbai, March 18: The Bombay High Court came down heavily on the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) for refusing to act on a sessions court order permitting a US national facing trial in Maharashtra to travel abroad, holding that administrative authorities cannot sidestep binding judicial directions.
Justice N J Jamadar, on Tuesday, observed that once a competent court has granted permission, the FRRO cannot decline to process an exit permit merely on the basis of objections raised by the investigating agency.
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“The FRRO was therefore not at all justified in refusing to process the application further on the ground that the Investigating Agency has raised the objection,” the court said.
Case relates to travel permission of US national
The court was hearing a plea by James Leonard Watson, who is facing prosecution for alleged attempts at religious conversion during a prayer meeting in Bhiwandi.
He has been booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with offences under the Maharashtra Black Magic Act, 2013 and the Foreigners Act, 1946 for alleged visa violations.
A Thane sessions court had granted him bail in October 2025 with a condition restraining him from travelling abroad without prior permission. In February 2026, the same court allowed him to visit the United States between March 9 and April 18 to see his ailing mother, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
FRRO refusal challenged in court
However, when Watson applied for an exit permit, the FRRO refused to process his request, citing objections from the investigating agency. Challenging this refusal, Watson argued that the decision effectively nullified the sessions court’s order and was “patently illegal”.
While the State opposed the plea citing the seriousness of the charges and informed the court that it has separately challenged the travel permission, Justice Jamadar clarified that the issue before him was limited to the legality of the FRRO’s action.
Court emphasises binding nature of judicial orders
“A judicial order of a competent court cannot be denuded of its meaning and content, in an indirect manner. Till the order permitting the applicant to travel abroad is in force, it commands obedience by the authorities,” the court said, adding that its “binding efficacy and force… cannot be permitted to be diluted or otherwise defeated.”
The court further noted that if the investigating agency was aggrieved by the sessions court’s order, the appropriate course was to challenge it promptly before a higher forum, rather than indirectly frustrate it through administrative inaction.
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Terming the FRRO’s stand untenable, the court directed the authorities to process Watson’s exit permit application within two days.
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