Court’s Permission not Required in Renewal of Passport Where a Criminal Case is Pending
In a recent case before the Division Bench of the Bombay High Court [Abbas Hatimbhai Kagalwala v. The State of Maharashtra and Anr. Writ Petition No.384 of 2019], a petitioner approached with the main contention that permission from the Court is not necessary for renewal of the Passport where a criminal case is pending against the Petitioner. According to the Counsel, the only limitation, where a criminal case is pending against a person, would be that the Petitioner shall not travel abroad without the permission from the Court. While a criminal case was pending against the Petitioner u/s 420, 465, 467 r/w 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, the validity of the Passport of the Petitioner came to an end in the year 2017. The Petitioner applied for renewal but the said application was pending for more than 4 years.
The contention from the side of the Government was limited to the argument that as per the Notification dated 25.8.1993 and Section 6.2 (f) of the Passport Act, 1967, a permission of the Court where criminal case is pending against the Petitioner is required to be obtained for the purpose of issuance of the Passport. As per the provision:
(2) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the passport authority shall refuse to issue a passport or travel document for visiting any foreign country under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 5 on any one or more of the following grounds, and on no other ground, namely:—
…
(f) that proceedings in respect of an offence alleged to have been committed by the applicant are pending before a criminal court in India; The court while underlining the difference between issuance of passport on one hand and renewal of passport on the other, held that where a criminal case is pending against the Petitioner, the authority shall process the application of the petitioner for renewal of Passport without insisting for permission of the Court. It is only if the Petitioner is travelling abroad, that the Petitioner would be required to seek permission from the Court where criminal case is pending.Court’s Permission not Required in Renewal of Passport Where a Criminal Case is Pending
