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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
(Punjab and Haryana High Court)
O. Chhinnappa Reddy, V. Khalid
UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS, APPELLANTS
VERSUS
SMT. CHARANJIT KAUR, RESPONDENT.
Civil Appeal No. 2793 of 1985
decided on January 20, 1987.
Passports Act, 1967 - Section 10 – First Information Report – Claim of compensation - Permanent deprivation of the passport - Reported activities detrimental to the security of India, attract the provision of Section 10(3)(c) of the Passports Act, 1967 - Due to the seriousness of the case and the likelihood of the subject trying to leave the country, in public interest, it is not considered necessary to issue a separate show cause notice. The same may, however, be incorporated in the impounding order. The right of the subject for appeal and the procedure in this regard may please also be explained in the impounding order, as per the Rules – Held, We think that the appeal has to be accepted. The fact that the respondent is the wife of Dr Jagjit Singh Chauhan, self-styled President of the so-called National Council of Khalistan is not an irrelevant circumstance though singly, by itself, it may appear innocuous. The circumstance has to be viewed in conjunction with other circumstances. Here, we have the circumstance that the wife of the self-styled President of the so-called National Council of Khalistan who is stationed in England has chosen to pay a visit to Punjab in these troubled days and to call on Bhindranwale the acknowledged leader of the militant Sikh movement in the company of Balbir Singh Sandhu, self-styled Secretary General of the National Council of Khalistan. She was reported to have come to India in the month of October 1983, to see her mother who was said to be seriously ill. She tried to leave India on August 18, 1984. Her mother died in the month of November 1985. In the context of the circumstance then existing and the materials available with the authorities, it can surely be said that the authorities were justified in suspecting her of being an emissary or a contact person between Dr Chauhan and the Sikh militants in India. If the Regional Passport Officer thought that she was likely to indulge in a manner detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of India and the security of India, it cannot be said that he was acting on no material. We do not agree with the High Court that the Bhindranwale factor was extinguished with the death of Bhindranwale. We do not understand the High Courts view at all. The movement which Bhindranwale represented has not died. Movements do not die with individuals. Nor do we understand the view of the High Court that there was no present danger on the date of impounding of the passport because that was two months after Bhindranwales death. We do not see any justification for treating such a recent event as an incident of the ancient past. We are satisfied that the order impounding the respondents passport is based on relevant material and not merely on the sole circumstance that she is the wife - Petition is dismissed
ORDER
CHINNAPPA REDDY, J. - The passport of Smt. Charanjit Kaur wife of Dr Jagjit Singh Chauhan was impounded by the Regional Passport Officer, Delhi by an order dated August 18, 1984. The reasons for the order were not furnished to her "in view of the grave nature of her activities and serious implications in terms of sovereignty and integrity of India and the security of India" in terms of Section 10(5) of the Passports Act, 1967. The reasons are however, to be found in the note made by the Regional Passport Officer on the same day. Paragraphs 1 to 3 of the note are as follows :
Ref. Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi letter No. V. I/405/1/102/84 dated August 18, 1984 relating to the activities of Smt. Charanjit Kaur wife of Shri Jagjit Singh Chauhan. Smt. Chauhan is reported to have links with Sikh extremists and may engage in activities detrimental to the security of India. She is also planning to leave India shortly.
2. Reported activities detrimental to the security of India, attract the provision of Section 10(3)(c) of the Passports Act, 1967.
3. Due to the seriousness of the case and the likelihood of the subject trying to leave the country, in public interest, it is not considered necessary to issue a separate show cause notice. The same may, however, be incorporated in the impounding order. The right of the subject for appeal and the procedure in this regard may please also be explained in the impounding order, as per the Rules.
The basis of the communication from the Ministry of External Affairs to the Regional Passport Officer was the information furnished by the Intelligence Bureau in two letters to the following effect :
According to a report Charanjit Kaur wife of Dr. Jagjit Singh Chauhan self-styled President of the so-called National Council of Khalistan who is now resident in UK is planning to leave India in the next few days. We are not aware of her passport particulars. There are reasons to believe that she has links with Sikh extremists and may engage in activities detrimental to the security of the country and therefore she should not be allowed to leave India. It is requested that the MHA may consider the advisability of impounding her passport.
And,
2. Our enquiries reveal that Smt. Charanjit Kaur is presently residing at Tanda and Nagal Khunga both in Hoshiarpur District.
3. Smt. Charanjit Kaur has not come to notice participating openly in political activities. She is however the wife of Dr Jagjit Singh Chauhan, President of the so-called National Council of Khalistan based in UK who has also been engaged in sustained anti-India and secessionist activities. According to the disclosures made by... Smt. Charanjit Kaur and Balbir Singh Sandhu self-styled Secretary General of the National Council of Khalistan used to hold frequent meetings in camera with Bhindranwale and his PA and they served as an important channel between Bhindranwale and his foreign links.
4. Smt. Charanjit Kaur has also been personally pursuing the court cases of her husband and one Ram Singh Tihara Khalistan protagonist in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
2. The order of the Regional Passport Officer which was later confirmed on appeal by the chief Passport Officer was quashed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana on the ground that there was no material for the conclusion of the Regional Passport Officer that impounding of the passport was necessary in the interests of the security and integrity of India and the security India. The High Court expressed the view that the "Bhindranwale factor" stood eliminated long before the making of the order since Bhindranwale died on June 6, 1984 whereas the order impounding the passport was made on August 18, 1984. According to the High Court it could not therefore be said that there was any danger in praesenti from the activities of Smt. Charanjit Kaur. The High Court appeared to think that the order was made for the sole reason that Smt. Charanjit Kaur happened to be the wife of Dr J
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