i disgaree court in which criminal case is pending will grant permission not the HC
2) clause (f) of sub-section (2) of Section 6 of the Passports Act, 1967 (hereinafter referred to as Act) empowers the Passport authority to refuse to issue a passport or travel documents for going abroad in the event the proceedings in respect of an offence alleged to have been committed by the applicant are pending before a criminal Court in India.
notification issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi dated 25th August, 1993 in GSR 570(E). The relevant extract of the notification reads thus:- "No, GSR 570(E) In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of 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.(E), dated the 14th April, 1970, 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 offence 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 specified 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 for a period of 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 less than one year, but does not specify the period validity of the passport, then the passport shall be issued for the period of travel abroad specified in the order. (b) any passport issued in terms of (a)(i) and (a)(n) 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 a fresh court order specifying a further period of validity of the passport or specifying a period for travel abroad;
(d) the Laid 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".