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Issuance Or Renewal Of Passport Can Be Barred Only After Presenting Of Chargesheet In Criminal Cases: J&K High Court
Aleem Syeed
19 Feb 2025 10:15 AM
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has held that the mere registration of an FIR or a pending investigation will not bar the authority from issuing or renewing the passport of the applicant. The court ruled that the authorities cannot refuse to issue or renew the passport unless the charge sheet is presented in the said case FIR. The court also noted that in the FIR lodged against the...
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has held that the mere registration of an FIR or a pending investigation will not bar the authority from issuing or renewing the passport of the applicant. The court ruled that the authorities cannot refuse to issue or renew the passport unless the charge sheet is presented in the said case FIR.
The court also noted that in the FIR lodged against the accused, the investigation was yet to be concluded, and the charge sheet had not been presented before the court.
A bench of Justice Javed Iqbal Wani, followed the ruling of the Supreme Court, which had held that criminal proceedings are considered pending only when the final report is laid down by the investigating agency and, in the case of a private complaint, when the court takes cognizance. It was said that until such an eventuality occurs, it cannot be said that criminal proceedings are pending in the court for the purpose of barring the issuance of a passport.
Section 6(2)(f) of the Passport Act provides that a request for the grant or renewal of a passport or travel documents can be refused if proceedings regarding an offence alleged to have been committed by the applicant are pending before a criminal court in India.
The court relied on Rajesh Gupta v. Union of India and Anr (2022), wherein a coordinate bench of the same court held that the mere registration of an FIR or the pendency of an investigation by the investigating agency is not a valid ground to refuse the renewal of a passport.
The court directed the passport authority to consider the petitioner's application for a passport/travel document, notwithstanding the alleged involvement of the petitioner in the FIR and the lack of clearance granted by the Director General of Police (CID) in this regard.
BACKGROUND
The petitioner was a retired public servant who had worked as Deputy General Manager at J&K Projects Construction Corporation. While in service, an FIR was registered against him under Sections 468, 471, and 120-B of the IPC, read with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. However, no charge sheet had yet been presented before the court. The petitioner applied online for the renewal of his passport, but the application was rejected due to the pending FIR.
The petitioner argued that halting the re-issuance of his passport/travel document on account of the pending investigation was illegal and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.
The court, therefore, directed the authority to consider the petitioner's case without taking the pending investigation into account, within a period of four weeks. The court also directed the respondent to re-verify whether the charge sheet in the FIR had been presented before the court.
APPEARANCE:
Taha Khalil, Advocate for Petitioners
Faizan Ahmad Ganie CGSC vice
T. M. Shamsi, DSGI.
Ms. Nadia Abdullah, AC vice
Mr. Mohsin Qadri, Sr. AAG. For Respondents
Case-Title: Mohammad Abass Lone Vs Union Of India And Ors, 2025
Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (JKL) 45