When a person faces a pending criminal case, the renewal of passport is governed by the provisions of the Passports Act and the notification dated 25.08.1993.

O R D E R

The petitioner is before this Court seeking issuance of a Writ of Mandamus directing the second respondent to renew the petitioner’s passport in Application No.25-2002221874.

2. The application submitted for renewal of the petitioner’s passport has not been processed on the ground that a criminal case is pending against him in C.C.No.1454 of 2022 on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate, Karaikudi. However, in the said criminal case, the trial Court did not accede to the request of the petitioner on the ground that he must be physically present before the Court and issued a non- bailable warrant. Subsequently, the petitioner filed a petition to recall the warrant before the trial Court. The trial Court recalled the warrant, but imposed a condition directing the petitioner to produce the passport within two days and further directed him not to leave Tamil Nadu without the permission of the Court. The petitioner further submits that he is presently residing in the United Kingdom and, since the validity of his passport and visa has expired, he is unable to travel to India either for renewal of the passport or to appear before the trial Court.

3. This Court had occasion to consider a similar issue in W.P.

(MD) No.7056 of 2017 in N.Chandrababu vs. The Sub Inspector of Police and another, wherein it was held 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 w