Pending criminal proceedings do not equate to conviction; thus, a passport can be reissued upon obtaining court permission as per the Passports Act.

JUDGMENT :

Advait M. Sethna, J.

1. Rule returnable forthwith. With consent of the parties, heard finally.

2. This writ petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, prays for the following substantive relief :-

“a) This Hon’ble Court, by way of approximate Writ Order or direction, may kindly be pleased to direct Respondents to consider Petitioner’s case for Re-issue of Passport for a period of 10 year;”

3. The petitioner is thus seeking orders from this court for the reissue of his passport for a period of 10 years, which had expired on 23 April2024.

Factual Matrix :-

4. The following are the relevant facts necessary facts for adjudication of this petition.

5. The petitioner is a social worker and a leader of a political party and the respondent is the Regional Passport Office, Pune.

6. On 22 June 2005 a first information report (“FIR” in short) was registered against the petitioner and 52 others under sections 143, 145, 147, 332, 333, 452, 427 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The petitioner was granted bail on 30 June 2005 by the Additional Sessions Judge, Pune upon furnishing a bail bond of Rs. 15,000/-.

7. On 28 November 2022, the petitioner filed an application before the Ld. Sessions Judge, Pune, seeking the renewal of his passport, which had expired on 19 December 2019. By an order dated 22 December 2022, the court dismissed the application, stating that permission of the court is not necessary to process the application for renewal of passport. Pursuant to this order, the petitioner was issued a passport with a one-year validity on 24 April 2023.

8. Following the renewal of his passport, the petitioner obtained an order from the Additional Sessions Judge, Pune, permitting him to travel. With the necessary clearances in place, the petitioner traveled to the United Kingdom from 1 June 2023 to 15 July 2023.

9. The petitioner’s passport expired on 23 April 2024. Consequently, the petitioner once again approached the Ld. Sessions Judge, Pune, seeking the renewal of his passport. By an order dated 25 June 2024, the court reiterated its earlier position, dismissing the application on the ground of renewal of passport, court permission is not required.

10. Relying on the above order, the petitioner submitted an application to the respondent on 6 August 2024, requesting the reissuance of his passport. However, vide communication dated 26 August 2024, the respondent deferred to decide the said application, citing the pendency of a criminal case, relying on the the notification dated 25 August 1993 and on the judgment of a co-ordinate Bench of this court in Cyrus Keki Balsara v. Union of India and Anr., 2024 SCC OnLine Bom 1085

11. In the aforementioned backdrop, the petitioner has approached this court, seeking reissuance of his passport for a period of 10 years.

Submissions :-

12. Mr. Abhijit Kulkarni, learned counsel for the petitioner, at the very outset urged that the respondent, i.e., Regional Passport Office, Pune, had declined to reissue the passport, on the sole ground of pending criminal proceedings qua the petitioner. He urged that this is not a case where the petitioner is convicted of any offence under the applicable criminal laws. In this context, he would rely on Section 6(2)(e) of The Passports Act, 1967(“Passports Act” for short), to contend that this is not a situation where the petitioner is convicted by a court in India for such offence(s).

13. Mr. Kulkarni, would urge that the petitioner has duly and fully complied with all legal obligations in regard to the pending criminal proceedings. He has been fully cooperating with the law enforcing agencies in respect of which, according to him, even the respondent would nurture no grievance.

14. Mr. Kulkarni, would urge that right to travel abroad is a fundamental right guaranteed under the Article 21 of the Constitution of India, 1950 (“Constitution of India” for short). Depriving a person of such right by denying reissuance of the passport only on the ground of pen