IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE NAGESH BHEEMAPAKA WRIT PETITION No.11024 of 2026

10.04.2026 Between:

Lankadasu Naga Venkata Harihara Sai Barat …Petitioner AND The Union of India, Ministry of External Affairs, Represented by its Secretary, South Block Secretariat, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India and another …Respondents

ORDER:

The petitioner is arrayed as Accused No.3 in Spl.SC.No.52 of

2024 on the file of learned IV Additional Sessions Judge, Hyderabad, FAC, Special Judge for SCs & STs (POA) Act cum VI Additional Sessions Judge, Secunderabad. It is his grievance that as his passport was expiring and in view of pending criminal proceedings, he approached the trial Court and filed an application seeking renewal of his passport for a normal period of ten years, and the trial court vide order dated 23.10.2025 allowed the same permitting the petitioner to renew his Passport and the respondent No.2 was directed to renew the said passport. However, the said order does not grant permission to travel abroad. Thereafter, he submitted passport renewal application to the 2^nd respondent-passport authority and the 2^nd respondent renewed the passport for only one year duration i.e., from 19.11.2025 to

18.11.2026. Hence, this writ petition.

2. Heard Sri B.Sai Santosh, learned counsel for the petitioners and Smt.N.V.R.Rajya Lakshmi, learned Standing Counsel for Central Government for the respondents. Perused the record.

3. Learned Standing Counsel for Central Government for the respondents submits that it is relevant to note the GSR 570(E) dated 25.8.1993, and the Office Memorandum dated 10.10.2019, with regard to issuance of passport to persons facing criminal proceedings. The paragraph (a) under the GSR 570 (E) reads as follows:

“(a) the passport to be issued to every such citizen shall be issued: (i) for the period specified in order of the court referred to above, if the court specifies a period for which the passport has to be issued; or (ii) if no period either for the issue of the passport or for the travel abroad is specified in such order, the passport shall be issued for a period of one year;

(iii) if such order gives permission to travel abroad for a period less than one year, but does not specify the period validity of the passport, the passport shall be issued for one year;

(iv) if such order gives permission to travel abroad for a period exceeding one year, and does not specify the validity of the passport, then the passport shall be issued for the period of travel abroad specified in the order.”

4. Further, even as per Mahesh Kumar Agarwal vs. Union of India, 2025 INSC 1476, the Hon’ble Supreme Court held that GSR 570 (E) does not create a new substantive bar beyond Section 6(2)(f), and further observed that the persons facing criminal proceedings can obtain passport, despite bar under Section 6(2)(f), in cases where the applicant has obtained an order for issuance or use of the passport.

5. In the instant case, admittedly, there are pending criminal proceedings against the petitioner. He made an application before the trial Court for renewal, and the trial Court has allowed the same for obtaining the passport. Though the petitioner sought renewal of passport for the usual duration of ten years, the order dated 23.10.2025 passed by the trial Court did not specify any particular duration for which the passport has to be renewed. In those circumstances, as per paragraph (a) (ii) under GSR 570 (E), the 2^nd respondent has renewed the passport for the default duration of one year. Therefore, this Court does not find any illegality or arbitrariness in the renewal of the passport for one year duration.

6. That being said, if the petitioner intends to have the passport renewed for a period beyond one year duration, he is at liberty to make

appropriate application before the trial Court, stating the reasons and the trial Court shall consider the same and pass appropriate orders, in accordance with