The court established that prior sanction for prosecution under the Passports Act is only necessary for offences defined within the Act, not for independent offences under the Indian Penal Code.

JUDGMENT

Pushpendra Singh Bhati, J. - In wake of second surge in the COVID-19 cases, abundant caution is being maintained, while hearing the matters in Court, for the safety of all concerned.

2. This criminal misc. petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. has been preferred claiming the following reliefs:

"(i) It is, therefore, most humbly and respectfully prayed before this Hon'ble Court that this Criminal Misc. Petition filed by the petitioner may kindly be accepted and allowed and the impugned F.I.R. No.319 dated 15.06.2019 registered at PS Hanumangarh Junction, District Hanumangarh may kindly be quashed and set aside.

(ii) Further, all subsequent proceedings arising out of above mentioned F.I.R. including warrant of arrest u/s 37 of Rajasthan Police Act, 2007 may also be quashed and set aside.

Any other relief, order or direction which this Hon'ble Court may deem it fit and proper be also passed in favour of the petitioner in the facts and circumstances of the case."

3. Brief facts of this case, as noticed by this Court, are that the petitioner submitted an application form in the year 2016 for issuance of a Passport, which was entered as passport application dated 15.09.2016, while annexing therewith a copy of her marksheet of Class-Xth, which mark-sheet later on was found to be forged, and thereafter, the impugned FIR was lodged against her by the concerned passport authorities.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the present petitioner has been sought to be prosecuted even without complying with the requirement of Section 15 of the Passports Act, 1967 (for short, 'the Act'), which provides that no prosecution shall be instituted against any person in respect of any offence under the Act without the previous sanction of the Central Government or such officer or authority as may be authorized by that Government by order in writing in this behalf, and thus, the present petitioner cannot be prosecuted, in pursuance of the impugned FIR, moreso in absence of any cheating or forgery on her part. The said Section 15 reads as under:-

"15. Previous sanction of Central Government necessary.- No prosecution shall be instituted against any person in respect of any offence under this Act without the previous sanction of the Central Government or such officer or authority as may be authorised by that Government by order in writing in this behalf."

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner has also referred to Section 12 of the Act, which reads as under:-

"12. Offences and penalties.-(1) Whoever-

(a) contravenes the provisions of section 3; or

(b) knowingly furnishes any false information or suppresses any material information with a view to obtaining a passport or travel document under this Act or without lawful authority alters or attempts to alter or causes to alter the entries made in a passport or travel document; or

(c) fails to produce for inspection his passport or travel document (whether issued under this Act or not) when called upon to do so by the prescribed authority; or

(d) knowingly uses a passport or travel document issued to another person; or

(e) knowingly allows another person to use a passport or travel document issued to him; shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees or with both. (1A) Whoever, not being a citizen of India,-

(a) makes an application for a passport or obtains a passport by suppressing information about his nationality, or

(b) holds a forged passport or any travel document, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to five years and with fine which shall not be less than ten thousand rupees but which may extend to fifty thousand rupees.

(2) Whoever abets any offence punishable under sub-section (1) or sub-section (1A)] shall, if the act abetted is committed in consequence of the abetment, be punishable with the punishment provided in that sub-section for