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2017 Supreme(P&H) 2330
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH
RAKESH KUMAR JAIN, J.
NITIN GARG - Appellant
Versus
UNION OF INDIA - Respondent
CWP No. 222 of 2017 (O&M)
Decided on : 05-09-2017
Advocate Appeared:
For the Appellant :Mr. Kanwaljeet Singh, Senior Advocate with Mr. Abhishek Bajaj, Advocate.
For the Respondent:Mr. Indresh Goel, Advocate. Mr. Swapanh Shaorey, Advocate.
Deliberate concealment of material information for obtaining a passport and pending criminal proceedings can justify the revocation of a passport under the Passports Act, 1967.
Headnote:
Passport Revocation - Concealment of Marital Status - Passports Act, 1967, Section 10(3)(b) & (e)
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner's passport was revoked due to concealment of marital status and pending criminal proceedings against him. The petitioner challenged the revocation.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the petitioner deliberately concealed his marital status at the time of obtaining the passport and was charge-sheeted in a pending criminal case, justifying the revocation.
Issues: Concealment of marital status for obtaining passport, pending criminal proceedings, and revocation of passport under Sections 10(3)(b) & (e) of the Passports Act, 1967.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the petitioner's deliberate concealment of marital status justified the revocation of the passport under Section 10(3)(b) of the Act. Additionally, the pending criminal case and the petitioner's status as a proclaimed offender justified the revocation under Section 10(3)(e) of the Act.
Final Decision: The court dismissed the petition, upholding the revocation of the petitioner's passport under Sections 10(3)(b) & (e) of the Passports Act, 1967.
RAKESH KUMAR JAIN, J.
1. The petitioner has challenged the order dated 04.02.2016 by which his passport has been revoked.
2. In brief, the petitioner was issued passport No. A-8845342 on 12.06.2000 by the Regional Passport Office (RPO), Chandigarh. He travelled to the United States of America (USA) on this passport in 2003. He got married to Neha Garg in October, 2006. He stayed with his wife Neha Garg in USA for about 4 years. The petitioner was re-issued passport No.J-1172253 dated 26.04.2010 in lieu of his earlier passport No.A-8845342. At the time of renewal, the petitioner did not disclose the name of his wife and, thus, it was not included in his passport No.J-1172253. The petitioner, along with his wife, came back to India in August, 2010 on passport No.J-1172253 but after a few weeks, he returned to USA and is there since then. Neha Garg, wife of the petitioner, lodged FIR No. 144/2012, under Sections 498A, 406, 506 & 34 of the IPC at Police Station, Sirsa City against the petitioner, her parents-in-law, sister-in-law and two others. She also made a complaint to the RPO, Chandigarh to issue show cause notice to the petitioner, as a result of which, show cause notice dated 22.06.2012 was issued to the petitioner. The RPO, Chandigarh also received a letter dated 05.07.2012 from the National Commission for Women about the complaint of Neha Garg against the petitioner of deserting her in India and taking away her passport while going to USA and from the Punjab State Commission for Non-Resident Indians. Ultimately, the Passport Officer, vide his order dated 24.08.2012, decided to impound the passport No.J-1172253 of the petition on the ground of suppression of material information, in terms of section 10(3)(b) of the Passports Act, 1967 (hereinafter referred to as the "Act") and directed him to submit his passport No.J-1172253 to the RPO, Chandigarh. However, based on the explanation submitted by the petitioner, the RPO revoked the order dated 24.08.2012 vide his authority No.USASP0550810/13 dated 18.11.2013.
3. In the meantime, in the proceedings initiated on the basis of the FIR lodged by Neha Garg, final report was submitted by the prosecution, in which only the petitioner was charge-sheeted. Thereafter, the Court has declared the petitioner a proclaimed offender vide order dated 18.09.2012.
4. Thereafter, Neha Garg lodged her grievances on 04.01.2015 and on 13.01.2015 on the Public Grievances Portal of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievance of the Government of India regarding suppression of marital status by the petitioner for obtaining passport No.J-1172253 from the Consulate General of India, San Francisco and also with the Director of Public Grievance in the Ministry of External Affairs with a request to revoke the passport of the petitioner. The RPO issued show cause notice dated 05.02.2015 to the petitioner, asking him to submit the status of the court case, to which the petitioner did not file any reply and vide his order dated 27.02.2015, his passport No.J-1172253 was revoked under Section 10(3)(e) of the Act.
5. Aggrieved against the aforesaid decision, the petitioner preferred an appeal through his father on 24.08.2015 before the Chief Passport Officer (CPO) and during the pendency of appeal, also filed Writ Petition No. 111927 of 2015 before the Delhi High Court. The said writ petition was disposed of on 21.12.2015 with a direction to the CPO to dispose of the appeal expeditiously, preferably within six weeks of the communication of the Court order.
6. Neha Garg sent a letter dated 12.07.2015 to the CPO, updating him with the status of the ongoing criminal case against the petitioner and also enclosed copies of the arrest warrant dated 04.03.2015 issued by the Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Sirsa. She also sent a letter to the Superintendent of Police, Sirsa, dated 14.07.2015, giving a reference of the arrest warrant, with a request that the petitioner's passport be revoked.
7. The p
