ORDER :

This Writ Petition has been filed for the issue of Writ of Mandamus directing the second respondent to renew the Passport of the petitioner.

2. The case of the petitioner is that he was issued with a Passport by the second respondent in the year 2011 and the same was valid upto 30.01.2021. The petitioner is said to be working at Saudi Arabia in a private concern. The petitioner applied for the re-issue/renewal of the Passport and he received a communication from the Consulate General of India, Indian Embassy, Saudi Aabia to the effect that there is a criminal case pending against the petitioner. On this ground, the respondents refused to re-issue/renew the Passport of the petitioner. Aggrieved by the same, the present Writ Petition has been filed before this Court.

3. The first and second respondents have filed a counter affidavit in this case. The relevant portions in the counter affidavit are extracted hereunder:

“(5) It is submitted that the petitioner's passport application has been processed by Embassy of India, Riyadh for re-issue of passport on PRE-police verification reports basis. On screening the records in official system it is noticed that in response to the police verification initiated in system by Embassy of India, Riyadh to the Superintendent of Police, Tirunelveli for submission of police reports, an adverse report was updated in system by Superintendent of Police, Tirunelveli informing that a criminal case in Crime No.155 of 2014 registered in Koodankulam Police Station under section 147, 352 of IPC read with section 4 of TNPHW Act and section 148, 447, 506 (ii) of IPC r/w section 3 of TNPPDL Act is Pending Trial against the petitioner.

(6) It is submitted that, it further reveals that the petitioner had suppressed the material information of criminal case pending against him in his present re-issue of passport application submitted at Embassy of India, Riyadh. The petitioner in para no.4 of this Writ Petition had agreed that the criminal case in Cr.No.154 of 2014 registered in Koodankulam Police Station under various sections of IPC is charge sheeted and pending against him before the Judicial Magistrate Court, Valliyoor Court in P.R.C.No.121 of 2017.

(7) It is submitted that the action having done so of the petitioner attracts sections 6(2)(f) and 12(1)(b) of Indian Passports Act, 1967.”

4. Heard Mr.L.P.Maurya, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mrs.L.Victoria Gowri, learned Assistant Solicitor General for respondents 1 and 2 and Mr.S.Angappan, learned Government Advocate appearing for the third respondent.

5. The main ground that has been raised by the respondents while opposing the re-issue/renewal of the Passport is that, criminal proceedings are pending against the petitioner before the Judicial Magistrate Court, Valliyoor in P.R.C.No.121/2017. According to the respondents, the petitioner has concealed the pendency of the criminal proceedings and therefore, he is not entitled for the re-issue/renewal of the Passport.

6. This Court had an occasion to deal with a similar issue in W.P.(MD) No.7056 of 2017 in the case of N.Chandrababu vs. the Sub Inspector of Police and another. The relevant portions in the order dated 21.04.2017 are extracted hereunder:

“3)..... At this juncture, it may be relevant to discuss the legal position with regard to the right of a person facing criminal prosecution to demand issuance of passport. To decide this issue, it may be necessary to extract the following legal provisions from the Passports Act, 1967.

'Section 5(2) of the Passports Act, 1967

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 countries specified in the application; or

(b) issue the passp