Pending Criminal Cases Cannot Be a Ground to Deny Issue of Passport: HC

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court made it clear that pendency of criminal cases cannot be a ground to deny renewal or issue of a passport to an applicant. The court opined that the right to personal liberty would include not only the right to travel abroad but also the right to possess a passport.

Justice Surepalli Nanda stated that as per Section 10 (d) of the Passports Act, a passport can be impounded only if the holder has been convicted of an offence involving "moral turpitude" to imprisonment of not less than two years. If it was the situation of post-conviction, the pendency of a case/cases is not a ground to refuse, renewal or to demand the surrender of a passport, the court opined.

The judge was dealing with a petition filed by Ravikanti Venkatesam from Mancherial challenging the decision of the regional passport officer in Hyderabad, who denied renewal or issue of a passport to him on the ground that a criminal case under section 420 IPC (cheating) was pending against him.

Considering the facts, Justice Nanda recalled that the apex court in ‘Maneka Gandhi v Union of India,’ and in ‘Satish Chandra Verma v Union of India’ very clearly observed that the right to travel abroad is a part of a personal liberty and the right to possess a passport can only be curtailed in accordance with law and not on the subjective satisfaction of anyone. The procedure must also be just, fair and reasonable.

The High Court held that the passport authority cannot refuse renewal of the passport on the ground of pendency of the criminal cases and directed the passport authority to renew/issue the passport of the applicant without raising any objection relating to the pendency of the aforesaid criminal case.