[2026:RJ-JD:7027]

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR S.B. Criminal Writ Petition No. 499/2026 Aadil Khan S/o Khan Mohd. Khan, Aged About 21 Years, R/o Chhapari Khurd, Tehsil Deedwana, Dist. Deedwana ,kuchaman ----Petitioner Versus State Of Rajasthan, Through Public Prosecutor ----Respondent For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Yusuf Khan For Respondent(s) : Mr. NS Chandawat, PP HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE FARJAND ALI

Order

09/02/2026

1. The petitioner is facing trial for the alleged commission of an offence punishable under Sections 8/21 of the NDPS Act, in Session Case No. 23/2025, which is presently pending before the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Didwana. During the pendency of the trial, the petitioner moved an application before the learned trial Court seeking permission for issuance/renewal of his passport and for leave to travel abroad on certain stated grounds. The learned trial Court, upon consideration of the said application, allowed the same and granted liberty to the petitioner to apply for issuance/renewal of his passport and to travel abroad, subject, however, to certain conditions. One of the conditions so imposed, being Condition No. 11 in the impugned order, mandates that the petitioner shall deposit a Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) in the sum of Rs. 2,00,000/- before the learned trial Court, coupled with an undertaking that in the event of breach of any of the bond conditions, the said amount shall stand forfeited. The petitioner, while not disputing the permission so granted, feels aggrieved by the aforesaid condition requiring deposit of the FDR and has thus invoked the jurisdiction of this Court to assail the legality and propriety of Condition No. 11 incorporated in the order under challenge.

2. Heard learned counsel for the parties and gone through material of the case.

3. This Court has dealt with the similar issue in the case of Balkaran Singh v. State of Rajasthan [S.B. Criminal Misc(Pet.) No. 7824/2022] dated 21.11.2022. The relevant paragraphs of the order are being reproduced herein below:-

“It is significant to note here that the Passports Act, 1967 does not confer absolute power upon a citizen to obtain passport. Section 6(1) & (2) of the Act prescribe certain conditions/eventualities when the passport authority is required to turn down request to make an endorsement or issue passport which includes a condition when an applicant is an accused in a criminal case. Relevant extract of section

6(2) is reproduced hereinbelow:-

“(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:—

(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 any 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 India of the applicant has been made by any such court;

(h) that the applicant has been repatriated and has not reimbursed the expenditure incurred in connection w