Mumbai: After a long wait of five years, Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty has finally received her passport back. This development comes after the Bombay High Court relaxed her bail conditions in the drugs case linked to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Expressing her relief and happiness Rhea shared an emotional post on social media reflecting on her period of struggle.
On Friday, taking to her official Instagram account, Rhea posted a picture of her passport and wrote
Patience was my only passport for the past 5 years. Countless battles. Endless hope. Today, I hold my passport again. Ready for my Chapter 2! ✈️ 🙏 Satyamev Jayate.”
Her post quickly went viral with many film personalities and fans extending their best wishes.
The verdict was delivered by a bench of Justice Neela Gokhale at the Bombay High Court. The court directed the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to return Rhea’s passport which was confiscated following her arrest in the drugs case in 2020. In her plea, Rhea had argued that the seizure of her passport was causing her to lose out on international work opportunities, adversely affecting her career.
The court granted relief noting that Rhea had not violated any of her bail conditions and had fully cooperated with the investigation. However despite the return of her passport certain conditions will remain in effect. She will be required to provide her complete travel itinerary, including hotel and flight details to the investigating agency four days prior to any foreign travel. Additionally she must keep her phone active at all times and inform the agency upon her return to India.
It is noteworthy that following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput on June 14, 2020, the NCB had arrested Rhea Chakraborty her brother Showik Chakraborty and several others in a related drugs probe. After spending nearly a month in jail, Rhea was granted bail in October 2020. As part of her bail conditions, she was instructed to surrender her passport and was prohibited from leaving the country without court permission. This new ruling now clears the way for Rhea to pursue her film career on an international level.
