ORDER :

This Crl. M.A has been filed seeking a direction from this court to permit the petitioner to apply for re-issue of the Passport of the applicant/appellant. The applicant/appellant stands convicted in S.C No.454/2019 on the file of the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Kollam, under Section 8 read with Section 7 and Section 10 read with Section 9 (1) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. He has been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for three years and also to pay a fine of Rs.50,000/-.

2. Section 6 (2) (e) of the Passports Act, 1967 reads as follows:-

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

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(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) of sub-section (2) of section 5 on any one or more of the following grounds, and on no other ground, namely: -

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(e) that the applicant has, at any time during the period of five years immediately preceding the date of his application, been convicted by a court in India for any offence involving moral turpitude and sentenced in respect thereof to imprisonment for not less than two years;”

A reading of Section 6 (2) (e) suggests that it creates a bar for the issuance of Passports to persons who have been convicted by any court in India for any offence involving moral turpitude and sentenced in respect thereof to imprisonment for not less than two years within a period five years immediately preceding the date of application for Passport.

3. The learned counsel appearing for the applicant/appellant submits that though there is a similar restriction in respect of persons against whom an offence is alleged to have been committed in terms of the provisions contained in Section 6 (2) (f) of the Passports Act, the Government of India has issued G.S.R 570 (E) dated 25-09-1993 which lays down the conditions upon which the authority can consider issuance/re-issue of Passports to persons facing criminal proceedings. It is submitted that when the criminal appeal has been admitted and the sentence has been suspended, as in this case, the petitioner should be entitled to obtain a Passport subject to the stipulations contained in the above G.S.R.

4. Heard the learned Public Prosecutor also.

5. Having heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Public Prosecutor, I am certain that Crl.M.A filed by the applicant/appellant cannot be allowed.

6. As already noticed above, the provisions of sub-section (2) of Section 6 of the Passports Act, 1967 use the words 'shall refuse', which in the absence of other indications should be treated as imperative. Considering the background in which the word 'shall' has been used in Section 6 (2), there is no warrant to read the provision otherwise. A perusal of G.S.R. 570 (E) dated 25.8.1993 issued by the Ministry of External Affairs would show that the same is issued in the exercise of the power of the Central Government under Section 22 of the Passports Act, 1967. Section 22 of the Passports Act, 1967 reads as follows:-

“22. Power to exempt – Where the Central Government is of the opinion that it is necessary or expedient in the public interest so to do, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette and subject to such conditions, if any, as it may specify in the notification,-

(a) exempt any person or class of persons from the operation of all or any of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder; and

(b) as often as may be, cancel any such notification and again subject, by a like notification, the person or class of persons to the operation of such provisions.”

G.S.R 570(E), reads thus:-

G.S.R. 570(E) exercise of the powers conferred by clause (a) oi Section 22 of the Passports Act 1967 (15 of 1967) and in supersession 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, bein