[2026:RJ-JD:18496]

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR S.B. Criminal Writ Petition No. 1709/2026 Mohammad Hanif Khan S/o Abdul Jabaar, Aged About 34 Years, Khan Mohalla Kuchaman City Nagour Rajasthan ----Petitioner Versus

1. State Of Rajasthan, Through Pp

2. Union Of India, Through The Secretary Ministry Of External Affairs New Delhi

3. Regional Passport Office, Through The Regional Passport Officer J 14 Jhalana Institutional Area Jhalana Doongri Jaipur 302051 Rajasthan ----Respondents For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Nishant Bora For Respondent(s) : Mr. Surendra Bishnoi, AGA Mr. Mohit Choudhary HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE FARJAND ALI

Order

20/04/2026

1. The instant Criminal Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been instituted by the petitioner, being aggrieved by the order dated 05.01.2026 passed by the learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kuchaman City in Case No. 541/2022, whereby permission for renewal of the passport was granted only for a limited period of one year.

2. The brief facts of the case, in a nutshell, are that an FIR dated 21.04.2021 was registered against the petitioner alleging offences under Sections 420 and 120B IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of the RPGO; however, vide order dated 18.11.2025, the learned Trial Court found no prima facie case under the IPC provisions and confined the proceedings to the bailable offences under the RPGO. The petitioner, engaged in a travel business requiring international mobility, contends that the restricted renewal period is arbitrary, commercially unviable, and prejudicial to his right to livelihood, thus necessitating the present writ petition.

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 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.”