The main legal point established is that the requirement of obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the court for passport renewal is in accordance with the provisions of the Passports Act, 1967, and the exemptions provided under Section 22.

JUDGMENT :

RAVINDRA MAITHANI, J.

1. By means of instant petition, the petitioner seeks the following reliefs:

“(i) To issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus directing the respondents to forthwith reissue the passport of the petitioner bearing no. U4589906 and to not to withhold re-issuance of the same on the alleged ground of pendency of criminal case no. 62 of 2010.

(ii) To pass any other suitable order which this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the present case.”

2. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.

3. It is a case of the petitioner that initially, he applied for the ordinary Passport which was issued to him on 19.12.1990 bearing No. A135662 (“the passport”). The passport was renewed subsequently on two occasions and it was valid till 19.03.2022. In between an FIR was lodged against the petitioner at Police Station Doiwala, District Dehradun. Therefore, in both occasions, when renewal was sought, the petitioner was asked by the Passport Authorities to get No Objection Certificate (“NOC”) from the Court concerned, which the petitioner did. Initially, NOC was given by the court concerned on 11.06.2018, without prescribing any period, to which the passport was to be issued.

4. Subsequently, on another occasion, the petitioner sought NOC from the court. It was granted on 11.10.2019 for a period of more than a year. Since, as such, specific period was not given by the court, in its order dated 11.10.2019, to which, the passport of the petitioner was to be renewed, the Passport Authority did approach the court concerned. Thereafter, on 28.01.2020, the court issued NOC for issuance of passport for two years.

5. The petitioner third time approached for renewal of the passport, but again passport authorities demanded NOC from the court.

6. It is the case of the petitioner that for renewal of the passport, NOC from the Court is not required and the respondents authorities have arbitrarily withheld the passport of the petitioner.

7. The respondents authorities were given time to file counter affidavit, which they did not file. Even intention was not expressed that the respondents authorities are willing or ready to file the counter affidavit. This matter is finally heard in the absence of any counter affidavit.

8. Learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that going abroad is a right to life and liberty of an individual. It cannot be curtailed in the manner in which it has been done by the respondents authorities.

9. Learned counsel would refer to the provisions of Sections 6 and 22 of the Passports Act, 1967 (“the Act”) to argue that under Section 22 of the Act, the Central Government had earlier issued notification on 25.08.1993, which was subsequently reaffirmed in an Office Memorandum dated 10.10.2019. Learned counsel has raised two principal points in his arguments:

(i) Initially, the passport of the petitioner was granted in the year 1990. At that time, the notification under Section 22 of the Act was not in existence. The petitioner was not facing any trial at that time. Therefore, the terms of the notification dated 25.08.1993 as well as the office memorandum dated 10.10.2019, both are not applicable in the case of the petitioner.

(ii) Even if it is assumed that these notifications are applicable in the case of the petitioner, initially, on 11.06.2018, the concerned court had not given NOC for an unlimited period. In such contingencies, it is argued that as per the Government Notification dated 25.08.1993, at one time, renewal for one year could have been done and for that purpose, no NOC was required.

10. Learned counsel appearing for the respondents authorities would submit that the passport of the petitioner was renewed last time, in terms of the office memorandum dated 10.10.2019, which requires that in every occasion, when the passport is to be renewed, the petitioner has to bring NOC from the court concerned.

11. Undoubtedly, to go abroad is one