IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE NAGESH BHEEMAPAKA WRIT PETITION No.29914 of 2025

09^th January, 2026 Between Jitender Babu Ravula … Petitioner AND

1. Government of India, and another … Respondents

ORDER

The petitioner is aggrieved by the action of the 2nd respondent–

Passport Authority in renewing his Passport No. P0196976 for a period of one year, i.e., from 07.08.2025 to 06.08.2026, on the ground of pendency of criminal proceedings in C.C. No. 721 of 2022 on the file of the learned Principal Junior Civil Judge-cum-Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Malkajgiri (for short, “the trial Court”).

1.1 It is the case of the petitioner that there are matrimonial disputes between him and his wife. He filed FCOP No. 539 of 2022 before the Family Court at Secunderabad seeking divorce, and his wife filed FCOP No. 324 of 2022 before the same Family Court seeking restitution of conjugal rights. Further, his wife filed C.C. No. 721 of 2022 before the trial Court against the petitioner and his family members. In this backdrop, upon the petitioner presenting his passport before respondent No. 2 for renewal, respondent No. 2 renewed it for a period of one year; hence, the present writ petition.

2. Heard Smt. G. Sree Chandra, learned counsel for the petitioner, and Sri Arvind Kumar Kata, learned Standing Counsel for the Central Government, appearing for the respondents.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that mere pendency of criminal proceedings cannot be a ground either to reject or refuse renewal of a passport, or to renew it for a shorter duration. Learned counsel relies on the orders passed by this Court in Writ Petition No. 17077 of 2025, dated 30.12.2025.

4. Learned Standing Counsel submits that normally passports are issued or renewed for a duration of ten years. However, in cases where criminal proceedings are pending, the Passport Authorities issue or renew passports for the duration specified by the Courts, and in the absence of any period specified by the Courts, the passport is renewed for one year as per G.S.R. 570(E), dated 25.08.1993. Therefore, the same cannot be said to be illegal or arbitrary.

5. Having considered the respective contentions and perused the record, it is evident that the petitioner is facing criminal proceedings in C.C. No.721 of 2022 before the trial Court. It is settled law that mere pendency of criminal proceedings cannot be a ground to reject or refuse issuance or renewal of a passport.

6. It is relevant to note that the Government of India issued an Office Memorandum dated 10.10.2019 clarifying that a “No Objection Certificate” (NOC) issued by a Court takes precedence over an “adverse”

police report (provided the details in the police report and the applicant’s undertaking match) and, in such instances, the Passport Officer may overrule the adverse report with written approval. Further, if the details in the Police Verification Report and the undertaking are at variance, the applicant may be required to provide clarifications and submit a revised NOC. If an applicant has criminal proceedings pending before several Courts, they are advised to obtain an NOC from all concerned Courts. Further, the order of the Court is to be examined along with the undertaking submitted by the applicant, as well as any other orders of the Court. Paragraph No. 2(a)(ii) of the Office Memorandum dated 10.10.2019 reads as follows:

“If no period either for the issue of the passport or for travel abroad is specified in such order, the passport shall be issued for a period of one year.”

7. At this juncture, it is also relevant to refer to the judgment of a coordinate Bench of this Court in Thirumani Nagaraju v. The Union of India, 1W.P.No.31665 of 2025 (Telangana High Court), observed as follows:

“7.The Notification G.S.R. 570(E) carves out a statutory exemption, permitting the issuance or renewal of a passport to such applicants, provided they produce either (i) a No Objection Certi