John losing Rs 50 lakh a day

Bollywood actor John Abraham's passport Bollywood actor John Abraham's passport  woes crept up on him once again yesterday, after his lawyer Abad Ponda revealed the star would lose over Rs 50 lakh a day if he did not leave for Turkey in time to complete his next film, Race 2.John had approached the Bombay High Court yesterday seeking renewal of his passport, which expires in the next six months.

In his petition, the actor stated that as per its laws, the Turkey government issues work visas only to those who have a passport validity of more than six months.

Earlier, the actor had approached the passport office seeking renewal. However, the officials rejected his application, stating that they cannot renew any person’s passport without the court’s permission against whom a court case is pending.

Ponda said, “He had no restrictions placed on travelling abroad even after his conviction.” In his petition, John had also claimed that since the high court had granted him probation, there was no case pending against him.

Justice P D Kode, who was hearing the petition, told the petitioner that under the Probation of Offenders Act only the sentence is suspended, but the conviction is maintained.

The court has directed the actor to add the passport office as a respondent to his petition and deferred the matter till today.



Case history

On April 7, 2006, John Abraham’s motorcycle — Suzuki Hayabusa — had skidded and knocked down two persons in Khar. Post- accident, the actor himself rushed the injured — Shyam Kasbe and Tanmay Majhi — to a hospital.

The two men were discharged after treatment. In October 2010, the Metropolitan Magistrate Court at Bandra sentenced John to a 15-day jail term. The actor had filed an appeal in the Sessions Court, and later the Bombay High Court, which upheld his conviction in the case.

The court, however, chose to release the actor on probation since he was a first-time offender. He was asked to sign a bond of Rs 10, 000 and pay Rs 10, 000 as compensation to the injured.

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