The Allahabad High Court ruled that there is no statutory bar on the Court for giving no objection to the person under trial, for passport renewal.

The Court held thus after Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate rejected Petitioner’s application stating that he has no jurisdiction for granting the permission of renewal of passport.

The bench of Justice Shamim Ahmed observed, “…it is clear that passport or travel document of a person, who is facing trial can be refused by the authority concerned during pendency of his criminal case, but there is no statutory bar for giving no objection by the court concerned.”

It is the case of the Petitioner, Kashif Ahmed that he held a passport previously which expired. Therefore, he is seeking its renewal. However, as he is a member of a political party there are 5 cases lodged against him that are related to protests against CAA/NRC hence, he approached the trial Court for a no-objection certificate.

The Petitioner approached the High Court with the present Writ Petition seeking issuance of writ in the nature of certiorari to quash the order of the trial Court.
As per the Counsel for the Petitioner, Advocate Ajmal Khan, the impugned order is illegal, perverse, and arbitrary; it was passed without application of judicial mind and also without considering the notification of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi, therefore, the same is liable to be quashed.
Senior Advocate and Deputy Solicitor General of India Surya Bhan Pandey, who is appearing for respondent, Union of India placed a notification of the Government of India dated August 25, 1993, and an Office Memorandum dated October 10, 2019, issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi, and submitted that there is no restriction to the Trial Court to direct for grant of permission for renewal of passport.

He further submitted that the impugned order appears to have been passed without application of judicial mind and without considering the aforesaid notification and therefore, is liable to be quashed and the matter be remanded back to the concerned Magistrate for permitting the petitioner for renewal of his passport.
The High Court relied on the decision of the Supreme Court in Maneka Gandhi Vs. Union of India (1978) AIR SC 597, where it held that having a passport is a fundamental right of the citizen of India and a citizen can not be deprived of such fundamental right.
The bench further observed that for issuance of a passport, a declaration has to be made by the applicant that the applicant has not been convicted by any Court of Law in India for any criminal offence and has not been sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more than two years with other relevant information.

“No hard and fast straight jacket formula can be laid down regarding issuance of permission or giving no objection by the court concerned for issuance of passport. It is always discretion of the court concerned and depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case, act and conduct of the accused as well as nature of alleged offence committed by him and stage of trial, etc.”Court stated.
The Court further stated that sometimes on account of enmity or ill will one party enmeshes the other party in a frivolous criminal case to settle his score, therefore, in the interest of justice, it is necessary to consider all aspects of the matter and surrounding circumstances while granting or refusing the no objection for renewal or reissue of passport or travel documents by the court concerned.

Accordingly, the Court stated that the impugned order is not sustainable in the eyes of the law, therefore, the same is liable to be quashed and the matter is liable to be remanded back to the learned trial court concerned.
The Court allowed the Writ Petition with direction to the trial Court to decide a fresh application, if filed, expeditiously.
Cause Title: Kashif Ahmed v. Union of India (Neutral Citation: 2024:AHC-LKO:25037)
Appearance:
Appellant: Adv. Ajmal Khan, Adv. Javed Khan
Respondent: Senior Advocate Surya Bhan Pandey, Adv. Varun Pandey

Allahabad High CourtJustice Shamim Ahmed

Tanveer Kaur