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JAGMOHAN BANSAL
Guljari Lal Saini – Appellant
Versus
Union of India – Respondent
JUDGMENT
Mr. Jagmohan Bansal, J. (Oral)
The petitioner through instant writ petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India is seeking setting aside of communication dated 01.09.2022 (Annexure P-4) whereby passport of the petitioner has been impounded.
2. Learned counsel for the petitioner inter alia submits that respondent No.2 has impounded passport of the petitioner without passing speaking order as well as granting opportunity of personal hearing to put forth his stand.
3. Mr. Ankur Sharma, learned counsel for the respondents fairly concedes that respondent No.2 has not passed a speaking order as required under Section 10 of PASSPORT ACT , 1967. He further submits that Passport Authorities would pass speaking order after granting an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner.
4. A Constitution Bench of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, more than four decades back, in Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India ; 1978 (1) SCC 248 recognized right to get passport and travel abroad as part of fundamental right guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The Hon'ble Supreme Court had also directed the authorities to grant opportunity of personal hearing before passing an order
The right to travel abroad is a fundamental right under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution, and passport issuance must consider relevant legal notifications and judicial discretion.
The fundamental right to travel abroad, the discretion of the court in granting permission for passport renewal, and the statutory provisions under the Passport Act 1967, along with the notification ....
The court established that the impounding of a passport requires adherence to principles of natural justice and that mere pendency of a criminal case does not automatically justify such action.
The mere pendency of criminal proceedings does not justify the denial of passport issuance, reaffirming the right to personal liberty and travel under Article 21 of the Constitution.
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