Karthikeyan Subramanian, S/o Subramanian vs Union Of India Represented By Its Secretary To Government, Ministry Of External Affairs, 74b, South Block, New Delhi

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2025 Supreme(Mad) 2236

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
G.Arul Murugan, J.
Karthikeyan Subramanian, S/o Subramanian - Petitioner
Versus
Union Of India Represented By Its Secretary To Government, Ministry Of External Affairs, 74b, South Block, New Delhi and ors. - Respondents
WP No. 17312 of 2025
Decided On : 08-05-2025

Important Points

Passport applications for renewal must be processed without requiring No Objection Certificates from the Trial Court in pending criminal cases, per established legal precedents.

Subject

Administrative Law - Passport Renewal

Headnote

(A) Passport Act - Renewal of passport - The petitioner sought to renew an expiring passport but was denied due to a pending criminal case requiring a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Trial Court - Past orders from the division bench indicated that applications for renewal should be processed without needing a NOC - The court must allow processing for renewal while stipulating that travel abroad requires court permission - Reference made to similar rule established in previous decisions. (Paras 5, 6)

(B) Writ Jurisdiction - Scope - A writ petition can be utilized to direct authorities to act in accordance with established legal precedents and not insist on unnecessary procedural barriers in routine applications when such insistence is not mandated by law. (Para 5)

Facts of the case:
The petitioner’s passport issued on 25.06.2015 is expiring on 24.06.2025, and upon seeking renewal, was told to obtain an NOC due to a pending case registered against him. A previous bench decision allowed renewal without this requirement under similar circumstances.

Findings of Court:
The court directed the respondent to process the application for passport renewal without requiring an NOC, provided the petitioner seeks permission from the Court for international travel.

Issues: Whether the renewal of a passport can be processed without needing NOC from the Trial Court when a criminal case is pending against the applicant.

Ratio Decidendi: The precedent set by the previous orders necessitates the processing of passport renewals without an insistence on NOC, reflecting a consistent judicial approach to similar cases, allowing for administrative efficiency while ensuring that necessary legal controls remain for traveling abroad.

Result: Writ Petition stands disposed of.

Advocates:
Advocate Appeared:
For the Petitioner: Mr.Gowwtham Thelak V.B
For the Respondent:Mr.S.Balaji Government Advocate, Ms.A.Amradha

Table of Content
1. petitioner's request for passport renewal. (Para 1 , 2 , 3)
2. precedents on passport renewal without noc. (Para 4)
3. court's directive on passport renewal. (Para 5 , 6)
4. final order disposing of the writ petition. (Para 7)

ORDER :

G.Arul Murugan, J.

The Writ Petition on hand has been instituted to direct the 2nd respondent to renew and re-issue a fresh passport without insisting for NOC from the Trial Court.

2. It is the case of the petitioner that passport bearing No.N0307054 which was issued on 25.06.2015, expires on 24.06.2025. Thus, he had made an application to the 2nd respondent on 11.12.2024 seeking for renewal of the passport.

3. It is further contended that during police verification, it came to light that a case in Crime No.3 of 2022 dated 09.02.2022 has been registered on the file of the 3rd respondent. Therefore, passport has not been issued on the ground that the petitioner has to obtain a NOC from the Trial Court.

4. Mr.S.Balaji, Government Advocate (Crl.side) appearing for the 3rd respondent would submit that in a similar circumstance, the Hon'ble Division Bench of this Court in order dated 02.06.2023 made in WA.No.902 of 2023 has passed orders directing the respondents to process the application for renewal without insisting for permission from the Trial Court.

5. The Hon'ble Division Bench of this Court in order dated 02.06.2023 made in WA.No.902 of 2023 has considered the similar issue and has directed the respondents to renew the passport, passed the following order, which reads as follows,

“In the light of the above, we pass the following order:

The writ appellant shall process the application of the first

(i) respondent for renewal of passport without insisting for permission of the Court, where a criminal case is pending against the first respondent. If the first respondent is travelling abroad, then the first respondent would be required to seek permission from the Court where the criminal case is pending.

(ii) Decision shall be taken as above, within one month.”

6. In view of the same, the 3rd respondent is directed to process the application of the petitioner for renewal of the passport without insisting for NOC from the Trial Court where criminal case is pending. However, when the petitioner travels abroad, he has to seek permission from the Court concerned.

7. With the above direction, the Writ Petition stands disposed of. No costs. Consequently, the connected Miscellaneous Petitions, if any, stand closed.