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Showing contexts for: REFUSAL OF PASSPORT in V.Dillibabu vs The Regional Passport Officer on 25 June, 2024Matching Fragments
4. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would submit that as per Section 6.2(f) of Passport Act, the passport authority cannot impound or refuse to issue passport or refuse the renewal of passport and in particular the refusal or renewal of passport cannot be https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis done by the authority as per the aforesaid provision based on the reason that the criminal case is pending for trial. He further submitted that the valuable right to enter into abroad for petitioner's livelihood cannot be curtailed by the Passport Authority and it is a clear violation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
6. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner relied https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis upon the Judgement of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India reported in 2021 SCC Online SC 3549 in the case of Vangala Kasturi Rangacharyulu Vs. Central Bureau of Investigation, wherein it is held that the refusal of a passport can be only in case where an applicant is convicted during the period of five years immediately preceding the date of application for an offence involving moral turpitude and sentence for imprisonment for not less than two years. Section 6.2(f) relates to a situation where the applicant is facing trial in a criminal Court. The conviction in that case stands till the disposal of the criminal appeal and the petitioner was convicted and sentenced to undergo for a period of one year. Therefore, the Passport Authority cannot refuse to renew the passport on the ground of pendency of the criminal appeal.
7. Admittedly, the petitioner is facing criminal trial for the offence under Section 302 of IPC in S.C.No.140 of 2018 on the file of the District Sessions Court, Chengalpattu. So far, no witnesses were examined by the prosecution. It is relevant to extract the provision under Section 6.2 of the Passport Act, 1967, which is hereunder :
“6. (2) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 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 :-
(h) that the applicant has been repatriated and has not reimbursed the expenditure incurred in connection with such repatriation;
(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.”
8. Accordingly, the issuance of passport can be refused to any applicant against whom any criminal proceeding is pending in any Court in India. However, the Government has the powers, conferred under Section 22 of the Passport Act, to exempt any person from the operation of all or any of the provisions of the Act. Accordingly, the Government issued a Notification dated 25.08.1993 in G.S.R. 570 (E). It grants exemption to the citizens, 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 order from the Court concerned permitting them to depart from India, from the operation of the https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis provisions of Clause 6.2(f) of the Passport Act subject to the following conditions :