Telangana High Court
Sirangi Muralidhar Rao vs Union Of India, on 3 July, 2024
HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.BHASKAR REDDY
WRIT PETITION No.16769 of 2024
ORDER:
This writ petition is filed praying this Court to declare
the action of respondent No.2 in not issuing passport to the
petitioner for ten years in spite of application Ref.No.(ARN)
24-1007987017, dated 24.06.2024 in the place of old
passport No.Y6818246, as illegal, arbitrary, unjust and
unconstitutional and consequently, direct the respondents
to issue passport to the petitioner for a period of ten years
and for other appropriate reliefs.
2. The case of the petitioner is that he is the holder of
Indian passport bearing No.Y6818246 issued by the
passport authorities on 18.10.2006 and the same was valid
up to 17.10.2016. It is the further case of the petitioner
that his marriage was performed with one Munnuru
Shobha in the year, 2014 and thereafter disputes arose
between him and his wife. Acting on the complaint lodged
by the wife of the petitioner, a case in Crime No.843 of 2014
was registered against him for the offences punishable
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under Section 498-A of I.P.C. and Sections 3 and 4 of the
Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 and after completion of the
investigation, charge sheet was laid before the XXI
Metropolitan Magistrate, Cyberabad at Medchal and the
said charge sheet was taken cognizance as C.C.No246 of
2017. Pending adjudication of the said criminal case, the
petitioner has made an application seeking renewal of his
passport and when the respondents have not considered
his application, he was constrained to file W.P.No.14393 of
2023. This Court, vide order, dated 13.06.2023, disposed
of the said writ petition directing the petitioner to file an
undertaking along with an affidavit before the learned XXI
Metropolitan Magistrate, Cyberabad at Medchal in
C.C.No.246 of 2017 stating that he shall not leave India
during pendency of the said C.C. without permission of the
Court and that he shall co-operate with the trial Court in
concluding the proceedings in the said C.C. It is the
further case of the petitioner that in compliance with the
orders passed by this Court, the respondents have re-
issued the passport for a period of one year which is valid
from 07.07.2023 to 06.07.2024 and since the petitioner is
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entitled for renewal of his passport for a period of ten years,
he made an application, dated 24.06.2024 seeking renewal
of the passport issued on 07.07.2023 for a period of ten
years. The grievance of the petitioner is that acting on the
said application, a notice was issued to the petitioner to be
present on 19.07.2024 and pending consideration of the
said application, the petitioner has filed the present writ
petition stating that the respondents are not considering
his application for renewal of his passport for a period of
ten years and anticipated that they renew his passport for
one year and the said action on the part of the respondents
amounts to violation of the Rule 12 (1) of the Passport
Rules, 1980 (for short "the Rules).
3. Sri G.Arun Kumar, learned counsel appearing for the
petitioner has submitted that there is an occasion to
consider the provisions of notification bearing No.GSR-
570(E), dated 25.08.1993, wherein the instructions were
issued to renew the passport only for a period of one year,
in case, if no time is mentioned by the Courts and this
Court duly taking into consideration of the notification
bearing No.GSR-570(E), dated 25.08.1993 and the Office
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Memorandum bearing No.VI/401/1/5/2019, dated
10.10.2019 has directed the passport authorities to renew
the passport for a period of ten years in accordance with
Rule 12 of the Rules. Learned counsel further submits
that even after the orders being passed by this Court in
W.P.No. 14393 of 2023, dated 13.06.2023, the respondents
are renewing the passport for a period of one year only
relying upon the notification No.GSR-570(E), dated
25.08.1993 and they are not implementing the orders
passed by this Court.
4. Ms.B.Kavitha Yadav, learned Standing Counsel
appearing for the respondents, relying upon the
instructions furnished by the respondents and also the
judgment of the High Court of Judicature of Bombay in
W.P.(L) No.1576 of 2024, dated 08.04.2024, would submit
that if the petitioner is aggrieved with the action of renewing
his passport for a period of one year, he would be required
to make an application for reissuance of passport before the
criminal Court where the case is pending. Learned
Standing Counsel further submits that the writ petition is
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liable to be dismissed as premature since the petitioner has
to appear before the passport authority on 19.07.2024.
5. A careful examination of the contents of the affidavit
would reveal that the passport of the petitioner was not
renewed on the ground of the criminal case pending vide
C.C.No.246 of 2017 and questioning the said action, the
petitioner filed W.P.No.14393 of 2023 which was disposed
of on 13.06.2023 directing the petitioner to file an affidavit
in pending criminal case and also to seek permission of the
Court as and when he wants to travel abroad. This Court
also imposed a condition that the petitioner shall deposit
the original renewed passport in C.C.No.246 of 2017
pending on the file of learned XXI Metropolitan Magistrate,
Cyberabad at Medchal. Since there is a specific direction to
deposit the passport in C.C.No.246 of 2017, the contention
of the learned counsel for the respondents that the
petitioner is not entitled for renewal of his passport for a
period of ten years is untenable. As per Rule 12 (1) of the
Rules, the petitioner is entitled for renewal of the passport
for a period of ten years and therefore, the respondents are
directed to renew the passport of the petitioner for a period
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of ten years and after reissue/renewal of the same for a
period of ten years, the petitioner is directed to deposit the
said original renewed passport in C.C.No.246 of 2017 on
the file of learned XXI Metropolitan Magistrate, Cyberabad
at Medchal and if the petitioner intends to travel abroad, he
is permitted to make appropriate application for release of
the said passport before the Court concerned.
6. With the above observations, this Writ Petition is
disposed of. There shall be no order as to costs.
7. As a sequel, the miscellaneous petitions pending, if
any, shall stand closed.
________________________________
JUSTICE C.V.BHASKAR REDDY
03.07.2024
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