Passport cannot be impounded merely on grounds of pending criminal case

Kochi: Kerala High Court on Wednesday said that passport cannot be refused or impounded just because criminal cases are pending against a person. For refusing passport, or impounding it, either a charge sheet has to be filed in the court or court proceedings should be there against him.

If the police verification report for issue of passport records that a criminal case is pending against the applicant, it should also record at what stage the case is and Director General of Police should take steps for this.

The court's pronouncements came in the order on the petition filed by Muhammad from Vatakara, Kozhikode against impounding of his passport on the grounds that there were criminal cases against him.

The petitionser obtained a passport in 2014 under Tatkal scheme. He went abroad and returned in January 2018, but the airport's Port Registration Officer impounded his passport on the grounds that there was a case against him. The charges included crimes like unlawful assembly, destroying public property and assault with lethal weapons .

The petitioner pleaded that he was not an accused in the case originally, nor was he aware of his being charged as accused later. The Regional Passport Officer replied that as soon as it became known from the police verfication report that there were cases against him, notice was served to his home address twice, but no reply or explanation was received.

However, the court took the position that in every case where the enquiry got prolonged, passport cannot be impounded on the assessment that cases are pending. If a judgment has to be made that criminal case is prevailing in the case, either a charge sheet has to be filed or a court indictment has to be made.

In these circumstances, the court directed that the petitioner's passport be restored to him.