Only the Trial Court has the authority to determine whether an individual facing criminal charges can travel abroad, and passport authorities must issue passports as affirmed by prior judicial guidelines.

ORDER :

ANIRUDDHA P. MAYEE, J.

1. By the present writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for direction to issue fresh passport to the petitioner for a period of 10 years.

2. Learned advocate for the petitioner submits that an FIR being No.11191001230247 of 2023 came to be lodged with the Anand Nagar Police Station, Ahmedabad for the offences punishable under Sections 5 , 4 of Prevention of Gambling Act, Sections 406 , 419, 114, 420 of the Indian Penal Code, Sections 66 (c), 66(d) of IT Act and Sections 23 (e), 23(g), 23(h), 23(a), 23(f) of the Securities Contract Regulations Act. He submits that in connection with the FIR, the petitioner has been granted bail vide order dated 27.07.2023 in Criminal Misc. Application No.2741 of 2023 by the concerned Court. He submits that due to lodging of FIR against the petitioner, the respondent passport authority is not issuing the passport to the petitioner and the petitioner is desirous of traveling abroad for business purpose.

3. Mr. Pradip D. Bhate, learned advocate for the respondent submits that the passport application of the petitioner is to be processed in accordance with the GSR Notification 570(E) dated 25.08.1993. He submits that the citizens who are facing criminal proceedings have to produce orders from the Court concerned permitting them to depart from India.

4. Heard learned advocates for the parties, perused the documents on record and considered the submissions.

5. At the outset, it is not in dispute that an FIR being No.11191001230247 of 2023 came to be lodged against the petitioner with the Anand Nagar Police Station, Ahmedabad for the offences punishable under Sections 5 , 4 of Prevention of Gambling Act, Sections 406 , 419, 114, 420 of the Indian Penal Code, Sections 66 (c), 66(d) of IT Act and Sections 23 (e), 23(g), 23(h), 23(a), 23(f) of the Securities Contract Regulations Act. It is also not disputed that in connection with the said FIR, the petitioner has been granted bail vide order dated 27.07.2023 in Criminal Application No.2741 of 2023 by the concerned Court. The petitioner is a businessman and he is desirous of traveling abroad for business purpose.

6. The GSR Notification 570(E) dated 25.08.1993 reads as under:-.

.“G.S.R 570 (E)-In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (a) of the Section 22 of the Passports 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 offences 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 or a period 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 vali