The right to travel and hold a passport is a fundamental right under Article 21; therefore, the passport authority cannot arbitrarily limit a passport's validity to one year for an unconvicted individual facing criminal proceedings, especially when the trial court has already issued a no-objection for renewal.

Order

1. The instant Criminal Writ Petition under Article 226 of Constitution of India has been filed by the petitioner being aggrieved from the letters dated 17.11.2025 and 27.01.2026 issued by the Regional Passport Officer, Jaipur whereby the issuance/renewal of the passport of the petitioner has been declined.

2. The brief facts of the case, in a nutshell, are that the petitioner, holder of passport bearing No. M1972566 issued on 12.09.2014, became an accused in FIR No.136/2023 registered under the provisions of the Rajasthan Excise Act, 1950, and after filing of charge-sheet, the matter is presently pending trial before the learned ACJM, Pali. Upon expiry of his passport on 11.09.2024, the Petitioner obtained a “No Objection” order dated 11.09.2025 from the trial court for renewal/re-issue of passport, without seeking permission to travel abroad. Despite full disclosure and compliance, including application under GSR 570(E), the Passport Authority has failed to process the renewal and continues to insist upon permission to travel abroad, contrary to the judicial order, thereby compelling the petitioner to invoke writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

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.”

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 auth