Aqeel Ahmad vs Union Of India Thru. Secy. ...
2022 Latest Caselaw 6221 ALL

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD, LUCKNOW BENCH
 
 

?Court No. - 3
 

 
Case :- WRIT - C No. - 3802 of 2022
 

 
Petitioner :- Aqeel Ahmad
 
Respondent :- Union Of India Thru. Secy. Ministry Of External Affairs, New Delhi And Ors
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Faisal Ahmad Khan
 
Counsel for Respondent :- A.S.G.I.,C.S.C.
 

 
Hon'ble Attau Rahman Masoodi,J.

Hon'ble Narendra Kumar Johari,J.

Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the application for renewal of passport has not been dealt with by the competent authority since January, 2022. However, a copy of show cause notice clarifying the position with regard to some criminal case has been issued to him on 12th April, 2022, copy of which has been handed over to the petitioner's counsel today itself.

The petitioner in his writ petition has clearly disclosed in paragraph 7 that an F.I.R. dated 3rd October, 2015, i.e. Case Crime No.751/2015 was lodged by the complainant/Dilip Kumar Jaiswal (Conservation Assistant, Archaeological Survey of India, Sub-Circle Gulab Bari, Faizabad) against the elder brother of the petitioner, after whose death, through a supplementary statement, the name of the petitioner has been introduced in the said complaint case. The criminal case is pending before the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Faizabad.

The Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs has issued guidelines, according to which in a situation where criminal cases are pending against a person, on applying for issuing a passport/renewal of passport, the matter is regulated under Notification dated 25th August, 1993, which, for ready reference, has been reproduced in a judgment rendered by this Court in Misc. Bench No.31723 of 2018. Learned counsel for the petitioner has also placed reliance on a judgment rendered by Delhi High Court in Criminal Appeal No.686/2018 (Ashok Khanna Vs. Central Bureau of Investigation) decided on 07.11.2019, MANU/DE/3767/2019 and reliance has also been placed upon a judgment/order passed by Hon'ble Apex Court in Criminal Appeal Nos. 1342/2017 (Vangala Kasturi Rangacharyulu Vs. Central Bureau of Investigation), MANU/SCOR/34388/2021, decided on 27.09.2021.

On a careful reading of the notification, placed on record, it is gathered that it is the competent court where the criminal case is pending that the petitioner may make an appropriate application for issuance/renewal of the passport before the court concerned seeking directions to the competent authority for issuing/renewal of passport during pendency of the criminal cases.

In case any such application is filed, it is expected that the competent court shall pass necessary orders expeditiously, preferably within a period of two months from the date of its filing, after putting the parties to notice.

With the above observation, the writ petition is disposed of.

Order Date :- 7.7.2022

ML/-