The decision on passport issuance to an individual involved in a criminal case is to be made by the court concerned, considering various factors, as per the Passport Act and relevant notifications.

ORDER :

1. Dated this the 1st day of March 2021 The petitioner is the accused in Crime No. 865 of 2016 of Mannar Police Station, Alappuzha District registered for the offences punishable under Section 377 of Indian Penal Code and Section 7 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

2. This application is filed seeking the following reliefs:

i) direct the 3rd respondent to consider petitioner's application wide Ref. No.21-1000132233 and issue passport to the petitioner immediately for a period of two years.

ii) issue such other order or direction, as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case.

3. Bail has been granted to the petitioner as per an order dated 30.08.2016 by this Court. It is the case of the petitioner that he has no criminal antecedents and he has not committed any offence as alleged. Now he has joined a professional course at Marina Academy of Maritime Training Centre, Ahmedabad and to pursue the studies he has to submit a copy of his passport to the Training Centre. As part of his academic course, it is necessary to travel in ships in and outside the country and therefore, he has submitted an application before the Passport Seva Kendra at Chengannur under the 3rd respondent for passport to facilitate his studies. Pursuant to the same, he was directed to appear before the Passport Seva Kendra on 25.01.2021 at 9.30 a.m. As the passport authority will issue passport only with the permission of the court because of the case pending against him he has come up with this application.

4. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Public Prosecutor.

5. Section 5 of the passports Act 1967 deal with the applications and power of the authority to issue passports. The relevant part of the section applicable to the present case reads as follows:

"5. Applications for passports, travel documents, etc., and orders thereon.

(1) xxxx xxxx

(2) On receipt of an application under this section, the passport authority, after making such inquiry, if any, as it may consider necessary, shall, subject to the other provisions of this Act, by order in writing,-

(a) issue the passport or travel document with endorsement, or, as the case may be, make on the passport or travel document the endorsement, in respect of the foreign country or countries specified in the application; or

(b) issue the passport or travel document with endorsement, or, as the case may be, make on the passport or travel document the endorsement, in respect of one or more of the foreign countries specified in the application and refuse to make an endorsement in respect of the other country or countries; or

(c) refuse to issue the passport or travel document, or, as the case may be, refuse to make on the passport or travel document any endorsement."

6. Section 6 of the Act deals with refusal of passports, travel documents etc. Sub Section (2)(f) says that the authority can refuse to issue passport to a person if a criminal case is pending before a criminal court in India.

Sub section (2)(f) of Section 6 of the Passport Act,967 is extracted hereunder:

"6. Refusal of passports, travel documents, etc.

(1) xxxx xxxx

(2) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the passport authority shall refuse to issue a passport or travel document for visiting any foreign country under clause (c) or sub-section (2) of

(f) that proceedings in respect of an offence alleged to have been committed by the applicant are pending before a Criminal Court in India.”

section 5 on any one or more of the following

grounds, and on no other namely:-

(a) to (e) xxxx xxxx

7. At this juncture it is necessary to set out the notification issued by the Government of India dated 25.8.1993 regarding the guidelines to the authority to issue passport to citizens of India against whom proceedings are pending in criminal cases. It reads as follows:

"G.S.R. 570(E) – In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (a) of Sect