Gujarat High Court
Karan Kamlesh Kakwani vs Regional Passport Office Ahmedabad on 10 October, 2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 9512 of 2025
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KARAN KAMLESH KAKWANI
Versus
REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICE AHMEDABAD
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Appearance:
MR YATISHKUMAR M SOLANKI(13510) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
MS NEHA Y SOLANKI(13672) 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 : 10/10/2025
ORAL ORDER
[1] By the present writ petition, the petitioner has prayed
For direction to renew passport to the petitioner for a period of 10
Years.
[2] Learned advocate for the petitioner submits that an FIR
being C.R. No.I-11191030210011 of 2021 dated 10th February
2021 came to be lodged with the Mahila Police Station (West),
Ahmedabad for the offences punishable under Sections 498(A),
323, 294(b) and 114 of the Indian Penal Code. He submits that
vide order dated 5th April 2021 passed by this Court in Criminal
Miscellaneous Application No.5858 of 2021, no coercive action is
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granted, however, Investigating Officer may continue with the
investigation. He submits that since the passport of the petitioner
was expired on 19th March 2025, the petitioner earlier applied for
the renewal of passport which was allowed for the period from 20 th
March 2024 to 19th March 2025. The petitioner moved applications
on 16th April 2025 before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate,
Ahmedabad and requesting the Hon'ble Court to release the
passport for renewal. He submits that the petitioner's application
for renewal of passport is allowed vide order dated 3 rd May 2025
without any restriction for time period of one year.
[3] Mr. Pradip D. Bhate, learned advocate 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.
[4] Heard learned advocates for the parties, perused the
documents on record and considered the submissions.
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[5] At the outset, it is not in dispute that the FIR being C.R.
No.I-11191030210011 of 2021 dated 10th February 2021 came to
be lodged with the Mahila Police Station (West), Ahmedabad for
the offences punishable under Sections 498(A), 323, 294(b) and
114 of the Indian Penal Code. He submits that vide order dated 5 th
April 2021 passed by this Court in Criminal Miscellaneous
Application No. 5858 of 2021, no coercive action is granted,
however, investigating Officer may continue with the investigation.
[6] 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
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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
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
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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."
[7] 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.
[8] The Division Bench of the Bombay High Court in writ petition
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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 booklet to the same passport
provided the applicant had obtained permission to travel
abroad.
(c) If the learned Magistrate passes an order making the
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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)."
[9] 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
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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 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 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.
[10] 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
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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.
[11] With the aforesaid directions, the present Special Civil
Application is allowed and accordingly stands disposed of. No order
as to costs.
(NIRAL R. MEHTA,J)
CHANDRESH
