His lawyer Shamsher Singh Thind said the court granted the application to allow Ramasamy to travel to Tamil Nadu from Aug 2 to 8.

“He will be attending a religious function at a temple in Vellakovil, Tamil Nadu, with his family. The court has instructed that the passport must be returned by 8am on Aug 11,” Shamsher said.

Shamsher said he had also applied to lift Ramasamy’s travel ban imposed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

He said sessions judge Zulhazmi Abdullah clarified that the court could not lift the ban as it was not imposed by it.

“It was imposed by the immigration department on MACC’s instructions. MACC has informed me they will notify immigration to have the ban removed,” he said.

Deputy public prosecutor Noor Azura Zulkiflee did not object to the application to have the passport returned.

Urimai chairman Ramasamy is facing 17 criminal breach of trust (CBT) charges involving RM850,000 in Penang Hindu Endowments Board funds.

He claimed trial and is currently out on RM78,000 bail.

The court also set Sept 10 as the next mention date for the status of additional documents to be handed over by the prosecution.