Gujarat High Court

Patel Dhrumilkumar Hareshbhai vs Union Of India on 12 September, 2025

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                            C/SCA/11922/2025                                    ORDER DATED: 12/09/2025

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                                   IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

                                    R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 11922 of 2025

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                                               PATEL DHRUMILKUMAR HARESHBHAI
                                                            Versus
                                                     UNION OF INDIA & ANR.
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                      Appearance:
                      MR AMIT N CHAUDHARY(5599) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
                      MR DEVENDRA PATEL(13624) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
                      MR PRADIP D BHATE(1523) for the Respondent(s) No. 1,2
                      ==========================================================

                         CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NIRAL R. MEHTA

                                                          Date : 12/09/2025

                                                            ORAL ORDER

[1] By the present writ petition, the petitioner has prayed

for direction to issue fresh passport to the petitioner for a period of

10 years.

[2] Learned advocate for the petitioner submits that Patel

Dipeshkumar Rasiklal having passport No.P5574872 and Patel

Dhrumilkumar Hareshbhai having passport No.P8540957 and the

petitioner wanted to go Canada on work permit along with Patel

Dhrumilkumar Hareshbhai, therefore, he applied for visa of Canada

for work permit through agent Vishal Gajjar, but he committed

fraud and taken amount of Rs.22,00,000/- from the petitioner and

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Patel Dipeshkumar Rasiklal therefore father of the petitioner

namely Hareshbhai Patel lodged F.I.R. being C.R. No.I-322 of 2018

for the offence registered under Sections 406, 420, 467, 468 and

114 of the Indian Penal Code against Vishal Gajjar. During

investigation, above both passports were submitted to Investigation

officer for purpose of investigation and above both passports

recovered as Muddamal. The petitioner is a victim of the above

crime and he wanted to collect the passport for the purpose of fresh

passport, therefore, he moved application before the Trial Court

which has been rejected, but, thereafter, Criminal Revision

Application No.3 of 2023 and Criminal Revision Application No.4

of 2023 preferred before the Additional Sessions Judge, City

Sessions Court, Ahmedabad and learned Additional Sessions Judge

granted permission to collect the old passport from the Trial Court

for the purpose of new passport. The petitioner further submits that

thereafter passport authority issued the passport No.Y6629175 to

Patel Dipeshkumar Rasiklal for period of 1 year instead of 10 year

wrongly considering as accused and issued the passport No.

Y6629183 to Patel Dhrumilkumar Hareshbhai for period of 1 year

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instead of 10 year wrongly considering as accused. Thereafter,

above new passports were about to expire at that time, the

Dipeshkumar Rasikbhai Patel preferred application for renewal of

the passport vide application reference No.25-0006473696

(passport application No.AHK070981952825) and another

application moved by Dhrumil Kumar Hareshbhai Patel vide

application reference No.25-0006465412 (passport application no

AHK1075090528425) before the passport authority. Thereafter, the

petitioner went to the Regional Passport Office where they

informed that they have not submitted copy of judgment/decision

as earlier passport was obtained on the basis of the Court's

permission. The petitioner submits that the petitioner's application

for renewal of passport is allowed for 1 year only though as per

rules it is required to be allowed for 10 years.

[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

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concerned permitting them to depart from India.

[4] Heard learned advocates appearing for the respective

parties, perused the documents on record and considered the

submissions.

[5] At the outset, it is not in dispute that father of the

petitioner namely Hareshbhai Patel lodged FIR being C.R. No.I-322

of 2018 for the offence registered under Sections 406, 420, 467,

468 and 114 of the Indian Penal Code against Vishal Gajjar. During

the investigation, the petitioner's passport was submitted to the

Investigation officer for the purpose of investigation and above

passports recovered as Muddamal and the petitioner is victim of the

above crime.

[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

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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 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

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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 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.

[8] The Division Bench of the Bombay High Court 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

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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 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

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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 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,