Passport office gives Modi 10 more days

Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi has been given a further 10 days by the Mumbai Regional Passport Office (RPO) to reply to its notice on why his passport should not be cancelled.

The notice was sent after the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which looks into foreign exchange violations, wrote to India's external (foreign) affairs ministry on October 5 asking it to revoke Modi's passport since he had not appeared before the ED to answer allegations of financial irregularities.

"The letter [from the RPO], dated November 1, says if no reply is received within the stipulated period, necessary action under section 10(3)(C) will be initiated by this office," Abdi told PTI on Tuesday. "We received this communication from the passport office today [November 2], which sets out the time frame of 10 days from the date of issue of this letter, whereas the timeframe usually starts from the service of the communication and not from the issuance of the correspondence."

Last week, Modi had sought clarity on several points from the RPO, including the deadline and the basis for the notice. "The passport office has not supplied the documents requested for by Mr Lalit Modi," Abdi said. "However, they have briefly reproduced contents of communication between ED and the Passport Office."

Modi has been living abroad for the past few months and said he fears for his life, though he denied he was absconding. The ED is examining whether Modi violated the Foreign Exchange Management Act during his time as IPL commissioner. Earlier this month, the directorate issued a blue corner alert for Modi, which makes it mandatory for law-enforcement agencies around the world to detain him wherever they spot him and inform the ED accordingly.