New Delhi: Former Bihar Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Laloo Prasad Yadav, planning to visit Pakistan next week, on August 5 moved the Supreme Court seeking release of his passport, which was deposited in the trial court as a condition for grant of bail to him in fodder scam cases.

The petition is likely to be mentioned on August 6 before the court for early hearing, as Yadav would be part of a delegation of Parliamentarians visiting Islamabad from August 9 to 11 on the invitation of South Asian Federation of Media Associations (SAFMA), his counsel B B Singh said.

The petition was filed, as two courts in Ranchi trying fodder scam cases against him refused to release the passport on the ground that it was Supreme Court, which had directed him to deposit the passport as a condition precedent for grant of bail to him.

However, the other courts trying other fodder scam cases in Patna and Ranchi had allowed the passport to be released, Singh said and added, "This is a gross case of injustice as Yadav wanted to visit Islamabad only for three days."

Yadav said in midst of efforts to improve Indo-Pak bilateral relations, the visit of the delegation of Members of Parliament (MPs) and senior journalists was part of the process for de-escalation of tension, confidence building and to have sustained dialogue.

The RJD supremo had surrendered his passport to the deputy superintendent of police on November 7, 1997 on the direction of the Patna High Court while granting him bail in one of the fodder scam cases. The apex court, while granting him bail in two other cases on December 14, 2000, had given similar directions.

PTI