Madras High Court Draws the Line: No Passport Surrender as Bail Shackle

In a crisp ruling that reinforces the boundaries of judicial power, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court has declared that trial courts cannot mandate the surrender of an accused's passport as a bail condition. Justice P. Dhanabal, in Raja v. Inspector of Police (CRL OP(MD) No. 6022 of 2026), partly allowed a petition by striking down this specific condition imposed by the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Tiruchirapalli. The decision, cited as, underscores that only passport authorities hold the reins under the Passports Act.

From Arrest to Bail Battle: The Petitioner's Plight

The saga began with a complaint leading to FIR No. 32 of 2025 at the All Women Police Station, Srirangam, Trichy. Petitioner Raja, labeled the accused, faced charges under Sections 294(b) (obscene acts/words), 417 (cheating), and 506(i) (criminal intimidation) of the IPC . Arrested on December 23, 2025, and remanded to judicial custody, he secured bail from the Sessions Court on January 10, 2026, via Crl.M.P. No. 212 of 2026.

Seeking relief from stringent terms, Raja filed Crl.M.P. No. 613 of 2026. On February 11, 2026, the Sessions Court tweaked conditions but retained three key ones: (1) no leaving India without court permission; (2) surrender passport to the jurisdictional Magistrate; (3) weekly sign-in at the police station every Monday at 10 a.m. Raja challenged the first three before the High Court on April 6, 2026, crying foul over passport impounding as a violation of Article 21 rights.

Petitioner's Pushback vs. State's Safeguard

Raja's counsel, Mr. G. Karuppasamy Pandian, argued the case was falsely foisted and the passport clause overstepped. Citing Suresh Nanda v. CBI ((2008) 2 SCC (Cri) 121) and Praveen Surendiran v. State of Karnataka (Criminal Petition No. 1892 of 2022) , he stressed courts can't impound passports under Section 109 BNSS (mirroring old Section 104 CrPC). Only passport authorities under Section 10(3) of the Passports Act —a special law—can act, trumping general criminal procedure.

The state, via Government Advocate (Crl. Side) Mr. M. Karunanidhi, defended the measure as necessary for the offence's "gravity" to ensure Raja's presence, urging dismissal.

Special Law Trumps General: Court's Sharp Reasoning

Justice Dhanabal dissected the clash: While courts may impound "any document or thing" under BNSS Section 109, passports are off-limits. "The Passports Act is a special law while the Cr.P.C. [now BNSS] is a general law. Therefore impounding of a passport cannot be done by the Court under Section 104 Cr.P.C. though it can impound any other document or thing. It is well settled that the special law prevails over the general law."

Drawing from precedents, the bench clarified: "So far as passport is concerned the passport authorities alone can impound passport and the trial Court while granting bail cannot impose such a condition to deposit the passport. If at all the Court wants to impound passport the same can be done through the concerned authorities." No flight risk was evident in these bailable offences, tilting scales against the restriction.

Court's Voice: Pivotal Quotes

  • On judicial limits : "In our opinion, this provision will only enable the Court to impound any document or thing other than a passport. This is because impounding a passport is provided for in Section 10(3) of the Passports Act."

  • Precedent punch : "On a careful perusal of the above said judgments it is clear that the Court may, if it thinks fit, impound any document or thing produced before it under Section 104 of Cr.P.C.... [but] impounding of a passport cannot be done by the Court."

  • Final clarity : "The condition No. 2 imposed by the Sessions Court directing the petitioner to surrender his passport to the jurisdictional magistrate Court is alone set aside. All other conditions shall remain intact."

Relief Granted, Ripples Ahead

The petition stood "partly allowed." Passport surrender quashed; bans on foreign travel sans permission and weekly police check-ins endure. This curbs overreach in bail grants, especially for non-heinous crimes, nudging courts to route passport curbs via proper channels. Future bails may see leaner conditions, bolstering accused liberty while preserving accountability.