The issuance of a passport is a part of personal liberty protected under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and the exemption conditions for citizens with pending criminal proceedings are subject to court orders.

JUDGMENT :

Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri Varun Pandey, learned counsel for the Union of India.

2. The personal liberty of the petitioner is the subject matter of contest in Crl. Misc. Writ Petition No.8213 of 2022. The arrest of the petitioner pursuant to the F.I.R. lodged against him under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471 I.P.C. has been stayed in the aforesaid writ petition vide order dated 7.10.2021.

3. The present writ petition relates to re-issuance of the passport, which has already expired on 10.02.2021. The bar as regards issuance of passport or its re-issuance operates by virtue of Section 6(2)(f) of the Passport Act, 1967 which for ready reference is extracted below :-

"6. Refusal of passports, travel documents, etc.

(2) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the passport authority shall refuse to issue a passport or travel document for visiting any foreign country under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 5 on any one or more of the following grounds, and on no other ground, namely:— (f) that proceedings in respect of an offence alleged to have been committed by the applicant are pending before a criminal court in India;"

4. The Central Government in the eventuality where the criminal proceedings are pending has issued a notification dated 25th August 1993, according to which, the exemption of any condition as regards issuance of passport may be prayed for before the competent criminal court where the proceedings are pending. The notification dated 25.8.1993 is extracted below:-

"GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, the 25th August, 1993

G.S.R. 570(E). - In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (a) of section 22 of the Passports Act, 1967 (15 of 1967) and in supersession of the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of External Affairs no. G.S.R.298(E), dated the 14th April, 1976, the Central Government, being of the opinion that it is necessary in public interest to do so, hereby exempts citizens of India against whom proceedings in respect of an offence alleged to have been committed by them are pending before a criminal court in India and who produce orders from the court concerned permitting them to depart from India, from the operation of the provisions of Clause (f) of sub-section (2) of Section 6 of the said Act, subject to the following conditions, namely:-

(a) the passport to the issued to every such citizen shall be issued--

(i) for the period specified in order of the court referred to above, if the court specifies a period for which the passport has to be issued; or

(ii) if no period either for the issue of the passport or for the travel abroad is specified in such order, the passport shall be issued for a period one year,

(iii) if such order gives permission to travel abroad for a period less than one year, but does not specify the period validity of the passport, the passport shall be issued for one year; or

(iv) if such order gives permission to travel abroad for a period exceeding one year, and does not specify the validity of the passport, then the passport shall be issued for the period of travel abroad specified in the order.

(b) any passport issued in terms of a(ii) and a(iii) above can be further renewed for one year at a time, provided the applicant has not travelled abroad for the period sanctioned by the court; and provided further that, in the meantime, the order of the court is not cancelled or modified;

(c) any passport issued in terms of a(i) above can be further renewed only on the basis of a fresh court order specifying a further period of validity of the passport or specifying a period for travel abroad;

(d) the said citizen shall give an undertaking in writing to the passport issuing authority that he shall, if required by the court concerned, appear before it at any time during the continuance in force of the passport so issued".

5. In the present case, however, personal liberty of the petitioner is the subject matt