The Kuala Lumpur High Court will decide on July 10 whether Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) legal adviser P Uthayakumar will get back his passport.

uthayakumar court release of passport travel documents 230609 02 Uthayakumar, 47, (right) has applied to get back the document in order to visit his ailing younger brother and Hindraf leader Waythamoorthy (left in photo) .

At the same time, he plans to undergo a medical check-up as his family has a history of heart problems.

The passport was surrendered to the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court after Uthayakumar was charged with sedition.

He was out on bail of RM50,000 bail when he was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) on Dec 13, 2007. He was released last month.

Judicial Commissioner Zainal Aznam Ab Aziz today heard submissions from Uthayakumar's lawyer N Surendran and DPP Noorin Badaruddin who is representing the government.

DPP Noorin said that Uthayakumar, being a former ISA detainee, does not have outright freedom as the Home Ministry has attached conditions to his release.

These include a ban on leaving his residence. He is also not allowed to change his residence without written consent from the inspector-general of police.

Should the court allow the application, she said, it would violate the conditions.

“The passport does not belong to him as it is issued by the Home Ministry. If the applicant is facing a criminal charge, withholding the passport would enable control over his movements.

“Furthermore, Uthayakumar has not adduced medical evidence to prove that he is sick and needs treatment overseas, when it can be obtained here.”

Bail amount ‘excessive’

uthayakumar court release of passport travel documents 230609 04 Surendran in his reply argued bail of RM50,000 is excessive and that the court had decided wrongly in making Uthayakumar surrender the passport.

He said DAP chairperson and Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh, who has been charged with sedition, is out on bail of RM2,000 and without further conditions imposed.

“My client's detention under the ISA was done in bad faith. Furthermore, Uthayakumar did not sign any papers prior to his release (and is therefore not bound by any conditions),” said Surendran (right) .

Uthayakumar, who was seated in the public gallery, then stood up and confirmed: “Yes I did not sign any conditional release form.”

Zainal Aznam ordered him to sit down and not disrupt the proceedings.

Noorin replied that it would not be wise for the court to consider the case as being similar to that of Karpal, because Uthayakumar has just been released from ISA detention.

Uthayakumar was charged with sedition on Dec 11, 2007, relating to a letter he allegedly wrote between Nov 15 and Dec 8, 2007, and posted on the PoliceWatch website.