Passport renewal allowed despite pending criminal cases, subject to court permission and return for proceedings.

O R D E R

The petitioner is before this Court seeking issuance of a writ of Mandamus directing the first respondent to renew the passport of the petitioner’s husband bearing Passport No. N8154542.

2. The learned counsel appearing for the first respondent and the learned Government Advocate (Criminal Side) submitted that three criminal cases have been registered against the petitioner’s husband. Out of the said cases, investigation is pending in two cases, and in respect of one case, a charge sheet has already been filed before the Judicial Magistrate Court No.I, Sivagangai, in C.C.No.765 of 2023.

3. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner’s husband is presently residing in Dubai and that the passport, which expires on 03.04.2026, has been impounded by the employer citing the pendency of criminal cases. It is further submitted that, in view of the impounding of the passport, the petitioner’s husband is unable to travel to India either for renewal of the passport or to appear before the concerned criminal courts.

4. This Court had occasion to consider a similar issue in W.P.(MD)

No.7056 of 2017 (N. Chandrababu vs. The Sub-Inspector of Police and another), wherein it was held as as follows:

“3)..... At this juncture, it may be relevant to discuss the legal position with regard to the right of a person facing criminal prosecution to demand issuance of passport. To decide this issue, it may be necessary to extract the following legal provisions from the Passports Act, 1967.

'Section 5(2) of the Passports Act, 1967 On receipt of an application under this section, the passport authority, after making such inquiry, if any, as it may consider necessary, shall, subject to the other provisions of this Act, by order in writing,-

(a) issue the passport or travel document with endorsement, or,as the case may be, make on the passport or travel document the endorsement, in respect of the foreign countries specified in the application; or (b) issue the passport or travel document with endorsement, or,as the case may be, make on the passport or travel document the endorsement, in respect of one or more of the foreign countries specified in the application and refuse to make an endorsement in respect of the other country or countries ; or (c) refuse to issue the passport or travel document or, as the case may be, refuse to make on the passport or travel document any endorsement. Section 6(2) of the Passports Act, 1967. 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 subsection (2) of section 5 on any one or more of the following grounds, an on no other ground, (a) that the applicant is not a citizen of India;

(b) that the applicant may, or is likely to, engage outside India in activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India;

(c) that the departure of the applicant from India may, or is likely to, be detrimental to the security of India;

(d) that the presence of the applicant outside India may, or is likely to, prejudice the friendly relations of India with any foreign country;

(e) that the applicant has, at an time during the period of five years immediately preceding the date of his application, been convicted by a Court in India for any offence involving moral turpitude and sentenced in respect thereof to imprisonment for not less than two years;

(f) that proceedings in respect of an offence alleged to have been committed by the applicant are pending before a Criminal Court in India; (g) that a warrant or summons for the appearance, or a warrant for the arrest, of the applicant has been issued by a Court under any law for the time being in force or that an order prohibiting the departure from Indi