Gujarat High Court
Arvind Punabhai Patel vs Regional Passport Office, Ahmedabad on 27 June, 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/8422/2025 ORDER DATED: 27/06/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 8422 of 2025
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ARVIND PUNABHAI PATEL
Versus
REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICE, AHMEDABAD & ANR.
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Appearance:
MR MOUSAM R YAGNIK(3689) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
MR PRADIP D BHATE(1523) for the Respondent(s) No. 1,2
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NIRAL R. MEHTA
Date : 27/06/2025
ORAL ORDER
1. Rule, returnable forthwith. Learned
advocate Mr.Pradip Bhate waives service of notice
of Rule on behalf of the respondents.
2. By the present writ petition, the
petitioner has prayed for direction to issue
fresh passport to the petitioner for a period of
ten years.
3. Learned advocate for the petitioner
submits that two FIRs being FIR being CR No.I-21
of 2013 registered with Odhav Police Station,
Ahmedabad for the offences punishable under
Sections 408, 409, 418, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471,
474, 477(k) and 120B of the Indian Penal Code
read with Section 46 of the Banking Regulations
Act, 1949, and FIR being CR No.I-11191056210250
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NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/8422/2025 ORDER DATED: 27/06/2025
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of 2021 registered with F Traffic Police Station,
Ahmedabad for the offences punishable Sections
279, 337, 304A of the Indian Penal Code read with
Section 177, 184, 134B of the Motor Vehicles Act.
He submits that the investigation is over and the
charge sheet was filed. The filing of the charge
sheet culminated into Criminal Case No.100367 of
2016 and Criminal Case No.1461 of 2022. He
submits that the petitioner is enlarged on bail
by the City Civil and Sessions Court, Ahmedabad
vide order dated 08th July, 2015 passed in
Criminal Misc. Application No.2528 of 2015. He
submits that since the passport of the petitioner
was to expire and therefore, after taking
permission from the court below in the year 2020
and 2022. He submits that the petitioner’s
application for renewal of passport is allowed
for one year only though as per Rules it is
required to be allowed for ten years.
4. Learned advocate Mr.Bhate for the
respondent submits that the passport application
of the petitioner is to be processed in
accordance with the GSR Notification 570(E) dated
25th August, 1993. He submits that the citizens
who are facing criminal proceedings have to
produce orders from the Court concerned
permitting them to depart from India.
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5. Heard learned advocates for the parties,
perused the documents on record and considered
the submissions.
6. At the outset, it is not in dispute that
two FIRs, as stated aforesaid, came to be lodged
against the petitioner. He submits that the
investigation is over and the chargesheet was
filed before the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate
Court, Ahmedabad. The filing of the chargesheet
culminated into two different criminal cases
being Criminal Case No.100367 of 2016 and
Criminal Case No.1461 of 2022. He submits that
the petitioner is enlarged on bail by the City
Civil and Sessions Court, Ahmedabad vide order
dated 08th July, 2015 passed in Criminal Misc.
Application No.2528 of 2015.
7. The GSR Notification 570(E) dated 25th
August, 1993 reads as under:-
“G.S.R 570 (E)-In exercise of the powers conferred
by clause (a) of the Section 22 of the Passports Act
1967 (15 of 1967) and in supersession of the
notification of the Government of India in the
Ministry of External Affairs No. G.S.R. 298(E),
dated the 14th April, 1976, the Central Government,
being of the opinion that it is necessary in public
interest to do so, hereby exempts citizens of India
against whom proceedings in respect of an offences
alleged to have been committed by them are pending
before a criminal court in India and who produce
orders from the court concerned permitting them to
depart from India, from the operation of the
provisions of Clause (f) of sub-section (2) ofPage 3 of 8
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Section 6 of the said Act, subject to the following
conditions, namely :-
(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 or
a period 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; or
(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 period of
travel abroad specified in the order.
(b) any passport issued in terms of (a) (ii) and
(a) (iii) above can be further renewed for one year
at a time, provided the applicant has not travelled
abroad for the period sanctioned by the court and
provided further that, in the meantime, the order of
the court is not cancelled or modified.
(c) any passport issued in terms of (a) (i) above
can be further renewed only on the basis of 3 fresh
court order specifying a further period of validity
of the passport or specifying a period for travel
abroad;
(d) the said citizen shall given an undertaking in
writing to the passport issuing authority that he
shall if required by the court concerned, appear
before it at any time during the continuance in
force of the passport so issued.”
8. Clause (ii) thereof states that if there
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is no period specified in the order passed by the
Trial Court for issuance of passport, the
passport shall be issued for a period of one
year. The said Notification also specifies in
Clause (i) that if the Court specifies the period
for which the passport has to be issued, then the
passport shall be issued for such a specified
period.
9. The Division Bench of the High Court of
Mumbai in writ petition No.361 of 2014 dated 13th
March, 2014 has held thus:-
“10. In the circumstances, we propose to issue
guidelines to be followed by the Respondents on
receipt of the applications for renewal of the
passports, in all cases, where the Magistrate’s
court has directed that the passports may be renewed
as per the “Rules”.
11. Accordingly, we issue the following
directions :-
(a) In all cases where the Magistrate’s
court directs renewal of the passports
under the Rules, the Passport Rules, 1980
shall apply and passports other than for a
child aged more than 15 years shall be
renewed for a period of ten years or twenty
years as the case may be from the date of
its issue. All qualifying applicants are
entitled to have passport renewed for
atleast ten years. The Regional Passport
Office shall renew the passports of such
qualifying applicants atleast for ten
years.
(b) In case where the passports are valid
and the applicants hold valid visas on
existing passport, the Regional Passport
Officer shall issue the additional bookletPage 5 of 8
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to the same passport provided the applicant
had obtained permission to travel abroad.
(c) If the learned Magistrate passes an
order making the reference to the said
Notification No. G.S.R. 570(E) dated 26th
August, 1993, the passport shall be renewed
only for such period that the Magistrate
may specify in the order or as otherwise
specified in the said Notification where
the passport of the applicant is valid for
less than one year, the additional booklet
may be issued subject to the orders to be
obtained in this behalf only of the
Magistrate concerned.
12. For avoidance of doubt, we clarify that the
guidelines set out herein will be applicable only in
the cases where the learned Magistrate ordered
renewal of the passports as per Passport Rules, 1980
and to no other. In other cases, where the learned
Magistrate had granted permission to the accused
persons to depart from India, the provisions of
Section 6(2)(f) of the Passports Act, 1967 and the
Notification(s) issued thereunder from time to time
by the Ministry of External Affairs or such other
competent authority so empowered, will continue to
apply and directions permitting the accused persons
to depart from India and/or the orders permitting
renewal of the passports of such accused persons
shall continue to be governed by such
Notification(s).
10. Though the said decision is not binding
on this Court, it has certainly a persuasive
value. In the considered opinion of this Court,
the ratio of the said judgment squarely applies
in the facts and circumstances of the present
case. The Central Government has issued a
Notification by exercising powers vested in it
under Section 6(2)(f) of the Passport Act, 1967
being GSR Notification 570(E) dated 25th August,
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1993. There being an ambiguity under the
provisions of the Act, the Rules and the GSR
Notification 570(E) dated 25th August, 1993 issued
by the passport authority, the Division Bench of
the Bombay High Court has clarified the said
ambiguity in case of Narendra K. Ambwani (supra).
This Court is also of the considered opinion that
the passport authorities do not have any
authority to decide whether the accused has a
right to travel abroad and such authority is only
vested in the Trial Court which can impose
conditions if an application is made seeking
permission to travel abroad. This Court is of the
considered opinion that the directions issued by
the High Court of Mumbai are binding upon the
passport authorities to renew the passport for a
period of ten years as per the Act and the Rules.
11. In view of the aforesaid reasons and
observations, the respondent authorities are
directed to renew the passport of the petitioner
for a period of five years as and when petitioner
made an application for renewal of the passport.
However, it is clarified that if the petitioner
has to undertake any travel abroad, he will have
to make appropriate application to the concerned
Trial Court seeking permission to travel abroad,
which shall impose such conditions as it deems
fit and proper in case of the petitioner. If any
application for renewal of the passport is made
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by the petitioner, the same be decided
expeditiously within a period of four weeks from
the date of such application.
12. With the aforesaid directions, the
present Special Civil Application is allowed and
accordingly stands disposed of. Rule is made
absolute to the aforesaid extent.
(NIRAL R. MEHTA,J)
ANUP
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