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9. I have considered the submissions made by the parties and also the writ petition papers.

10. As per Section 6 of the Passport Act, 1967, the Passport Authority shall refuse to make an endorsement for visiting any country under Clause (b) or (c) of Sub-Section 2 of Section 6 of the said Act on any or more of the grounds mentioned in Section 6 of the Act, which reads thus:

"6. Refusal of passports, travel documents, etc.--

(1) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the passport authority shall refuse to make an endorsement for visiting any country under clause (b) or clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 5 on any one or more of the following grounds, and on no other ground, namely:--

(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:--

(a) that the applicant is not a citizen of India;

(b) that the applicant may, or is likely to, engage outside India in activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India;

(c) that the departure of the applicant from India may, or is likely to, be detrimental to the security of India;

(i) that in the opinion of the Central Government the issue of a passport or travel document to the applicant will not be in the public interest."

11. A reading of Section 6(2)(f) of the Passport Act indicates that, the passport authority shall refuse to issue a passport or travel document for visiting any foreign country, if a criminal proceeding is pending against the applicant in India . However, the said provision does not provide for refusing to issue a passport for a person who intends to travel back to India . Hence, reading of this provision clearly indicates that it is applicable only for issuing a fresh passport and not for renewal of passport and this view is fortified by the decision of the Delhi High Court rendered in the case of Ashok Khanna -vs- Central Bureau of Investigation (supra). Delhi High Court while interpreting Section 6 of the Passport Act, 1967 has held that the Passport Authority can refuse to issue passport or an endorsement for visiting any country but nowhere in the provision it is mentioned that even for renewal of passport, the Authority can refuse to renew the passport. It was further held that for renewal of passport, an applicant has to submit Form EA(P)-2 which reads as under:

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stated supra, since mere pendency of a criminal case (which has been stayed) is not a ground for the respondents to refuse renewal of passport and consequently, the impugned endorsement refusing to renew passport only on the ground that a criminal case is pending is clearly illegal, arbitrary and deserves to be quashed. In the result, I pass the following:

ORDER i. The petition is allowed. The communication at Annexure-D dated 22.10.2021 is hereby set aside.