The court ruled that citizens with pending criminal cases may obtain passports under specific conditions outlined in the 1993 notification, balancing individual rights and public interest.

ORDER :

(ANIRUDDHA P. MAYEE, J.) 

1. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner.

2. It is submitted that against the petitioner, a criminal case is pending before the High Court for the offences registered at Naroda Police Station, Ahmedabad. The petitioner herein has prayed to direct the respondent authorities to issue her passport.

3. Mr. Pradip Bhate, learned counsel appearing for the respondent Passport Authority submits that the case of the petitioner will be governed by the notification/circular dated 25.8.1993 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 pertinent to take note of the notification/circular dated 25.8.1993 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 25.8.1993, 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 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 issuisng 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 TEN YEARS in terms of the notification/circular dated 25.8.1993.

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.