Homeward Bound: Jose Ramirez Barreto

Calcutta Customs returned Brazilian Jose Ramirez Barreto’s impounded passport on Tuesday morning, a day after the Mohun Bagan footballer filed a contempt petition in the high court against its commissioner, Goutam Roy.

Barreto reciprocated by withdrawing the petition, which had sought contempt proceedings against Roy for refusing to hand him back the passport despite a directive from the Barasat additional chief judicial magistrate’s court.

The court order stipulates that Barreto, if he chooses to go out of the country, must return in six weeks and surrender his passport to the customs department within 48 hours of reaching Calcutta.

The footballer was arrested at the airport on March 20 for carrying foreign exchange in excess of what is allowed. He was to board a flight to Sao Paolo.

Now that he has got back his passport, Barreto will visit his family in Brazil soon. His lawyer, Jaymalya Bagchi, assured the court that his client would return within the stipulated time.

The footballer has had to submit two security bonds of Rs 10,000 each and a bank guarantee of Rs 15 lakh.

Lawyers representing Calcutta Customs had said on Monday that they would contest the additional chief judicial magistrate’s order in the Supreme Court.