Gujarat High Court

Jayeshbhai Dahyabhai Patel vs Regional Passport Officer on 20 October, 2023

Bench: Vaibhavi D. Nanavati

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     C/SCA/11215/2023                             ORDER DATED: 20/10/2023

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             IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

             R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 11215 of 2023

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                        JAYESHBHAI DAHYABHAI PATEL
                                  Versus
                        REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICER
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Appearance:
MR TATTVAM K PATEL(5455) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
NOTICE SERVED BY DS for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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 CORAM:HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE VAIBHAVI D. NANAVATI

                              Date : 20/10/2023

                               ORAL ORDER

1. By way of present writ-application filed under Article

226 of the Constitution of India the writ-applicant herein as

prayed for the following reliefs :-

      "(a)     admit/allow this writ petition;


      (b)      issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ,

order or direction, quashing and setting aside communication/ order dated 27.04.2023 (Annexure-A) issued by Regional Passport office, Ahmedabad and further be pleased to direct Regional passport office, Ahmedabad to renew passport of present petitioner for the period of two years;

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captioned Special Civil Application, direct Regional passport office, Ahmedabad to renew passport of present petitioner for the period of two years;

(d) any other and further relief as deem fit in the interest of justice may kindly be passed."

2. The writ-applicant herein applied for re-issuance of

passport by preferring Application No.AH2076634980422 dated

11.7.2022, to the said application objection has been raised by

the respondent authority by communication dated 27.4.2023,

wherein the writ-applicant herein was asked to place on record

fresh permission from the Court for renewal of passport or

final Court judgment.

3. Being aggrieved by the impugned objection raised by the

respondent authority dated 27.4.2023 the writ-applicant herein

has approached this Court for the reliefs as prayed above.

4. The writ-applicant herein has been arraigned as an

accused No.2 in M-Case No.1 of 2013 registered before

Gandhinagar Zone Police Station, CID Crime, for the offences

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punishable under Sections 406, 420, 465, 467, 471, 120B and

34 of the Indian Penal Code.

4.1 The writ-applicant herein - accused No.2 came to be

enlarged on bail by order dated 12.10.2018 passed in the

Criminal Misc. Application No.1 of 2018 in Criminal Misc.

Application No.23957 of 2017 whereby earlier conditions came

to be modified by the said order and the same condition came

to be substituted that the passport authority would not renew

the passport of the writ-applicant for more than two years and

before leaving territory of India the writ-applicant would

disclose his itinerary to the Court below.

5. Mr. Tattvam Patel, the learned advocate appearing for

the writ-applicant submitted that in view of the aforesaid order

dated 12.10.2018 passed in the Criminal Misc. Application

No.1 of 2018 in Criminal Misc. Application No.23957 of 2017

it was not competent for the respondent authority to decline or

not to consider the writ-applicant's Application

No.AH2076634980422 dated 11.7.2022 seeking re-issuance of

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the passport and in view thereof submitted that the prayers as

prayed for be granted.

6. Mr. Kshitij Amin, the learned advocate appearing for the

respondent authority was not in position to controvert the

aforesaid submissions advanced by Mr. Patel, the learned

advocate appearing for the writ-applicant herein.

7. In the facts of the present case, the writ-applicant herein

- accused No.2 is enlarged on bail in M-Case No.1 of 2013

registered before Gandhinagar Zone Police Station, CID Crime,

for the aforesaid offences. Criminal Misc. Application No.24951

of 2017 seeking quashing of the alleged offence for which the

writ-applicant herein is arraigned as accused No.2, is pending

before this Court and in the said petition notice is issued

which is duly produced at page-41.

7.1 It is apposite to refer to the order dated 12.10.2018

passed in the Criminal Misc. Application No.1 of 2018 in

Criminal Misc. Application No.23957 of 2017, wherein para-5

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reads thus:-

"5. Having considered the rival submissions and having regard to the statement on oath that the investigation has not progressed so far, the operation of the conditions aforestated would now be unreasonable and would cause great hardship to the petitioner inasmuch as on the mere ground of the pendency of the investigation, his right to freedom of movement would be unnecessarily regulated in a case where the investigation has not progressed. This Court is therefore, of the opinion that the case is made out for modification of the two conditions. The two conditions i.e. condition nos. (c) and (d) shall stand substituted by following conditions:

"(c) the passport authority would not renew the petitioner's passport for more than two years at a time;

(d) before leaving the territory of India, the petitioner would disclose his itinerary to the court below."

The passport shall be released to the petitioner."

7.2 At this stage, it is apposite to refer the notification

issued by the Central Government, Ministry of External Affairs

bearing No.VI/401/1/5/2019 dated 10.10.2019, para-2 of the

said notification reads thus :-

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"2. GSR 570(E) dated 25.8.1993 is reproduced below for reference:

GSR 570(E) - In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (a) of 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. GSR 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 offence 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 subsection (2) of 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 nhove, if the court specifies a period for which the passport has to be issued; or ..

(ii) if no period either jor 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;

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(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.

(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 a 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. Considering the aforesaid facts, notification dated

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10.10.2019 and considering the order passed in in the Criminal

Misc. Application No.1 of 2018 in Criminal Misc. Application

No.23957 of 2017, the present writ-application requires to be

allowed. The respondent authority is directed to consider the

case of the writ-applicant herein for re-issuance of the passport

for a period of two years in line with the order dated

12.10.2018 passed in the Criminal Misc. Application No.1 of

2018 in Criminal Misc. Application No.23957 of 2017 duly