'I stand vindicated,' says Lalit Modi, after passport restoration order

Former Indian Premier League Commissioner Lalit Modi took to Twitter on Wednesday after the Delhi high court ordered restoration of his passport, thanking the people who stood by him.

"I want to thank u from the bottom of my heart for standing by me. Some of u had doubts. But today I stand vindicated. It's been a long tough path for me and my family. The 4 years 3 months and 14 days it's taken me to clear my name has not been easy...," tweeted Modi.

A landmark judgement, passed by a division bench of the Delhi high court, comprising Badar Durrez Ahmed and Vibhu Bakhru, set aside all orders against Modi and restored his passport.

Importantly, the ruling also set aside all the previous orders, including those of FEMA violations, on Modi, the founder and chief architect of the IPL and president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association.

The latest development paves the way for his return to India.

".. I lived daily by my mantra "this too shall pass". I am grateful to the honourable judges of the High Court for providing today this landmark judgement...", Modi wrote on his Twitter handle.

Restoring his passport, the bench said the material taken into consideration while revoking his passport were "extraneous and irrelevant".

Further, the bench said the order revoking his passport was invalid as it was in violation of Article 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression) and (g) (practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business) of the Constitution.

The bench also said there is a specific procedure and statutory provisions for default or non-compliance of summonses under FEMA and revocation of his passport for such default on the ground that it was in the interest of general public "was not lawful".

Modi, who was charged for alleged irregularities in IPL funds, was deposed in 2010 and later had to fly off to England to evade arrest after BCCI framed cases against the then boards' vice-president. Modi though refused to talk about it at present.

"I will not be giving any interviews on this subject - just a release and would like the news community to respect that - as today I want to just be with my family and close friends and thank them for helping me get thru this most difficult journey a man was made to go thru...," his tweet added.

Image: Lalit Modi