Gujarat High Court
Sagar Shivlal Baheti vs Regional Passport Office on 30 September, 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/4516/2025 ORDER DATED: 30/09/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 4516 of 2025
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SAGAR SHIVLAL BAHETI
Versus
REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICE
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Appearance:
MR SANJU J NAKHVA FOR MR ANVESH V VYAS(5654) for the
Petitioner(s) No. 1
RITESH D PATADIA(6460) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
MR PRADIP D BHATE(1523) for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NIRAL R. MEHTA
Date : 30/09/2025
ORAL ORDER
1. Heard the learned advocates appearing for the respective parties.
2. It is submitted that against the petitioner, total seven offences are registered, which are as under:
Sr. Details of F.I.R. Pending / No. disposed of 1 Crime Register No.11191010230 of On 13th 2023 registered with Madhavpura November, Police Station, Ahmedabad City for 2023. the offence under Sections325, 323, 294(b), 506(2), 143, 147, 149 of the Indian Penal Code read with Section 135(1) of the Gujarat Page 1 of 6 Uploaded by ANUP V PARIKH(HC00956) on Tue Sep 30 2025 Downloaded on : Tue Sep 30 23:44:00 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/4516/2025 ORDER DATED: 30/09/2025 undefined Police Act.
2 Somewhere in the year 2023, more particularly on 13th November, 2023, the petitioner had quarreled with the opponents since it was Diwali time and the family of the petitioner was engaged in Diwali celebration by firing crackers in the common plot. The petitioner was also attacked upon the petitioner and his family members.
In response, the family of the petitioner also defended and both the sides were booked in FIRs' against each other. Subsequently the parties were enlarged on bail by the concerned courts.
3 In the interregnum, need arises for the petitioner to renew his passport since it was expired. The petitioner filled up the form along with the copies of the relevant documents.
4 When the petitioner checked the
status of his passport on the
website of the respondent known as Passport Seva, the status was Page 2 of 6 Uploaded by ANUP V PARIKH(HC00956) on Tue Sep 30 2025 Downloaded on : Tue Sep 30 23:44:00 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/4516/2025 ORDER DATED: 30/09/2025 undefined found that police verification report was not clear and the application was under review at the regional passport officer.
5 The petitioner tried to give
sufficient clarification to the
concerned officer. However,
ultimately, the impugned
communication was served upon the petitioner on 04th March, 2025, wherein it was stated that permission of Court was necessary to process further with the application.
2.1 The respondent authorities did not renew the passport of the petitioner in view of the pendency of the cases.
3. Learned advocate Mr.Pradip Bhate for the respondent Passport Authority submits that the case of the petitioner will be governed by the notification/circular dated 25th August 1993 and the application would be decided accordingly.
4. In view of the pendency of the case, the authority has required the petitioner to furnish the Court's order. In this behalf, it is Page 3 of 6 Uploaded by ANUP V PARIKH(HC00956) on Tue Sep 30 2025 Downloaded on : Tue Sep 30 23:44:00 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/4516/2025 ORDER DATED: 30/09/2025 undefined pertinent to take note of the notification/circular dated 25th August, 1993 issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, providing that in the interest of public at large, the citizens, be exempted, against whom the proceedings in respect of an offence alleged to have been committed by them are pending before the Criminal Court. The relevant extracts of the notification dated 25th August, 1993, read as under:
"In exercise of the process conferred by clause (a) of Section 22 of the Passport Act, 1967 (15 of 1967) and in supersession of the Notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of External Affairs No. G.S.R 298 (E) dated the 14th April, 1976, the Central Government, being of the opinion that it is necessary in public interest to do so, hereby exempts citizens of India against whom proceedings in respect of an offence alleged to have been committed by them are pending before a criminal court in India and who produce orders from the court concerned permitting them to depart from India, from the operation of the provisions of Clause (f) of sub-section (2) of Section 6 of the said Act, subject to the following conditions, namely:-
(a) the passport to be issued to every such citizen shall be issued -
(i) for the period specified in order of the court referred to above, if the court specifies a period for which the passport has to be issued; or
(ii) if no period either for the issue of the passport or for the travel abroad is specified in such order, the passport shall be issued for a period of one year;
(iii) if such order gives permission to travel abroad for a period less than one year, but does not Page 4 of 6 Uploaded by ANUP V PARIKH(HC00956) on Tue Sep 30 2025 Downloaded on : Tue Sep 30 23:44:00 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/4516/2025 ORDER DATED: 30/09/2025 undefined specify the period validity of the passport, the passport shall be issued for one year; or
(iv) if such order gives permission to travel abroad for a period exceeding one year, and does not specify the validity of the passport, then the passport shall be issued for the period of travel abroad specified in the order.
(b) any passport issued in terms of (a)(ii) and (a)
(iii) above can be further renewal for one year at a time, provided the applicant has not travelled abroad for the period sanctioned by the court; and provided further that in the meantime the order of the court is not cancelled or modified;
(c) any passport issued in terms of (a) (i) above can be further renewed only on the basis of a fresh court order specifying a further period of validity of the passport or specifying a period of travel abroad;
(d) the said citizen shall give an undertaking in writing to the passport issuing authority that he shall, if required by the court concerned, appear before it at any time during the continuance to force of the passport so issued."
5. In view of the above, the respondent Passport Authority is directed to decide the application of the petitioner for issuance of passport with a validity period of five years in terms of the notification/circular dated 25th August, 1993. However, it is clarified that if the petitioner has to undertake any travel abroad, he will have to make appropriate application to the Trial Court concerned seeking permission to travel abroad, which shall impose such conditions as it deem fit and proper in the case of the petitioner.
Page 5 of 6 Uploaded by ANUP V PARIKH(HC00956) on Tue Sep 30 2025 Downloaded on : Tue Sep 30 23:44:00 IST 2025NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/4516/2025 ORDER DATED: 30/09/2025 undefined
6. Needless to say that the exercise shall be completed within a period of four weeks from the date of the receipt of the copy of this order.
7. With the above direction, the petition is disposed of. No order as to costs.
Direct service is permitted.
(NIRAL R. MEHTA,J) ANUP Page 6 of 6 Uploaded by ANUP V PARIKH(HC00956) on Tue Sep 30 2025 Downloaded on : Tue Sep 30 23:44:00 IST 2025