[2026:RJ-JD:12284-DB]

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR D.B. Criminal Misc. Appli No. 170/2026 Safik Khokhar S/o Shri Alaudeen Khokhar, Aged About 30 Years, R/o Khokhar Gali Ward No. 27, Sardar Sahar, Dist. Churu Raj. (At Present On Bail, Sentence Suspended By This Hon'ble Court Vide Order Dated 08-04-2024)

----Petitioner Versus State Of Rajasthan, Through Public Prosecutor ----Respondent For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Harsh Shekhawat For Respondent(s) : Mr. C.S. Ojha, AGA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE FARJAND ALI HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANDEEP SHAH

Order

13/03/2026

1. The instant criminal miscellaneous application under Section 528 of the BNSS read with Section 430 of the BNSS has been preferred on behalf of the applicant with a prayer that he may be permitted to avail passport facilities and to undertake travel abroad.

2. Briefly stating the facts of the case are that the applicant was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the learned trial court in Sessions Case No. 119/2017 vide judgment dated 20.12.2023 under, inter alia, Section 302/149 IPC. The said conviction is under challenge before this Court in D.B. Criminal Appeal No. 50/2024. While being on bail during the pendency of the appeal, the applicant applied for passport facilities; however, the Regional Passport Office Jaipur issued a show cause notice on the ground of pendency of criminal proceedings, requiring the applicant to obtain permission from this Court in terms of the Passports Act, 1967.

3. We have heard the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the applicant and learned AGA as well as perused the material available on record.

4. 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 with such repatriation;

(i) that in the opinion of the Central Government the issue of a passport or travel document to the applicant will not be in the public interest.”

4.1 To diminish the rigour of sub-section (2)(f) of section 6, the Central Government has issued a notification dated 28.06.1993 which enables the passport authority to issue passport even in the case of a person covered by clause (f) of sub-section