Traffic violations, wittingly or otherwise, is a common occurrence in India. In most cases, the offender settles the matter by paying a fine. Occasionally, the owner may return to find the vehicle chained within the premises of the Regional Transport Office.
But in an extreme case, a traffic offence has threatened the livelihood of a professional who works in Kuwait.
Mohasin Surati (46) has lived and worked in Kuwait for the past 25 years.
What began as a minor traffic lapse during a short trip to Lunawada in central Gujarat has now left him stranded in Kuwait without a valid passport.
His future in the Gulf stands threatened. He faces risk of deportation, cancellation of his work visa, and the possibility of being permanently barred from returning to any Gulf country.
Surati explained in his petition that his employment and residence status in Kuwait were now in severe danger.
According to a news report, if he failed to present a passport, he would be forcibly deported, permanently blacklisted, and prevented from entering Kuwait or any other Gulf nation again. The outcome would destroy his livelihood.
His passport remains valid only until January 2026, while his work permit is set to expire on September 6, 2025. To extend the work permit, he first needed to renew his passport.
The trouble traces back to November 19, 2024, when Surati, during a brief visit to India, was stopped for riding his two-wheeler on the wrong side of the road in Lunawada.
At the police station, an FIR for rash driving was lodged against him. Believing, after speaking to his lawyer, that the matter had been settled, he left the station and returned to Kuwait unaware that the criminal case remained pending before the Lunawada JMFC court.
When he approached the Indian embassy in Kuwait for passport renewal in August, his application was rejected on August 25.
Embassy officials informed him that renewal could not be granted while the traffic-related criminal case was still unresolved, and advised him to either produce a certificate showing closure of the proceedings or obtain court permission for a short-term validity passport.
With his situation becoming dire, Surati turned to the Gujarat High Court. His wife filed a petition seeking to set aside the embassy’s refusal letter and requesting directions to the Regional Passport Office to issue either a full-term or short-term passport, subject to appropriate conditions, so that he could return to India and face the case.
Their counsel, Jaydeep Sindhi, reportedly argued that Surati had left India without knowing that the case was still pending.
He said that the offence was a simple traffic violation. The petition also conveyed Surati’s readiness to participate in the trial from Kuwait via video conferencing and to appear in person whenever the court required.
