Gujarat High Court
Ghanshyam Chunilal Patel vs Regional Passport Officer, Regional ... on 10 July, 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/9239/2025 ORDER DATED: 10/07/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 9239 of 2025
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GHANSHYAM CHUNILAL PATEL
Versus
REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICER, REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICE,
AHMEDABAD
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Appearance:
RONITH JOY(9560) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
MR PRADIP D BHATE(1523) for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NIRAL R. MEHTA
Date : 10/07/2025
ORAL ORDER
1. RULE. Mr. Pradip D. Bhate, learned advocate waives
service of rule for the respondent.
2. The present Special Civil Application seeks a direction
to hold the renewal of the passport of the petitioner only for
1 year being violative of his fundamental right and
therefore, being illegal, arbitrary and discriminatory and
in violation of the provisions of the Passport Act, 1967.
3. Learned advocate for the petitioner has submitted
that under the prevalent rules of the GSR Notification
570(E) dated 25.08.1993, the respondent authority has to
renew the passport of the petitioner for a period of 10
years. He submits that the trial against the petitioner has
been pending since last 1 8 years and during the pendency
of the trial, the petitioner's passport was expiring in the
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C/SCA/9239/2025 ORDER DATED: 10/07/2025
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year 2025. The petitioner has, therefore, moved
application before the concerned Trial Court. The Trial
Court vide its order dated 24.3.2025 has directed the
passport authority to renew the passport of the petitioner as
per the rules and prevalent notifications. Learned advocate
for the petitioner submits that the respondent renewed the
passport of the petitioner only for a period of 1 year
from 9 . 6 . 2 0 2 5 t o 8 . 6 . 2 0 2 6 in terms of
the GSR Notification 570(E) dated 25.08.1993. He
submits that the petitioner is in business of running car
studio and therefore has to travel to various
neighboring countries. The petitioner also needs to travel
for business expansion and to import goods and material
necessary for his business operations. He submits that
since the petitioner's passport is valid only for 1 year, it is
restricting his travel abroad as and when required. He,
therefore, submits that appropriate direction be passed
since the petitioner is well settled in business and has no
intention of absconding.
3.1 Learned advocate for the petitioner in support of
his submissions has relied upon the judgment of the Division
Bench of Bombay High Court reported in 2014 SCC Online
Bom 356 - Narendra K. Ambwani v. Union of India &
Ors. wherein the Bombay High Court has issued guidelines
to be followed by the passport authorities where the Trial
Court has directed that the passport may be renewed as per
the rules.
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4. Per contra, Mr. Pradip D. Bhate, learned advocate for
the respondent has submitted that the passport of the
petitioner has been renewed from time to time in terms of
the GSR Notification 570(E) dated 25.08.1993. He
submits that where the order of the Trial Court grants
permission to travel abroad for a period of less than 1 year
but does not specify the period, the passport has to be
renewed only for 1 year. He submits that in view of said
Notification, the passport authorities have issued the
passport as per the rules and the prevalent notifications.
He submits that, however, there is no restriction on this
Court to issue a direction for issuance of the passport for a
certain period of validity as per the rules. He,
therefore, submits that appropriate directions be passed
accordingly.
5. Considered the submissions and perused the
documents on record.
6. It is not disputed that the FIR under Sections 4 0 6 ,
4 2 0 a n d 4 0 9 o f t h e I P C came to be registered against
the petitioner, charge-sheet came to be filed and a
Criminal Case No.914 of 2007 is pending before the
Trial Court. By order dated 24.3.2025, the Additional
Sessions Jduge, has passed an order directing that
the passport of the petitioner is permitted to be renewed
as per the rules and regulations applicable to renewal of
passport.
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7. The GSR Notification 570(E) dated 25.08.1993 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) 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 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
oneyear; 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)
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(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 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 1
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. In the present case, the passport authority
has processed the renewal application of the petitioner for
a period of 1 year since the Trial Court has not specified
any period in its order. Further, the said order also places
restriction that whenever the petitioner has to travel
abroad, he has to take appropriate permission from the
Trial Court.
9. The Division Bench of the Bombay High Court in
writ petition No.361 of 2014 dated 13.03.2014 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,
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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 booklet to the same passport
provided the applicant had obtained permission to
travel abroad.
(c) If the learned Magistrate passes an order
making the eference 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
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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.
In case of the petitioner herein, the Additional Sessions
Judge, Ahmedabad, has clearly directed that the application
for renewal of the passport of the petitioner should be
processed as per the Act and Rules framed thereunder. It
is not disputed that the Additional Sessions Judge,
Ahmedabad, has not given any direction as to the period for
which the passport of the petitioner should be renewed.
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
25.08.1993. There being an ambiguity under the provisions
of the Act, the Rules and the GSR Notification 570(E)
dated 25.08.1993 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
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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 Bombay High Court are binding upon
the passport authorities to renew the passport for a period of
10 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 10 years. However,
it is clarified that if the petitioner has to undertake any travel
abroad, he will have to make appropriate application to
the 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 by the petitioner, the same
be decided expeditiously within a period of 4 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. No order as
to costs.
(NIRAL R. MEHTA,J)
V.J. SATWARA
