The Allahabad High Court has directed the Regional Passport Office to release a petitioner’s impounded passport, holding that once the underlying criminal proceedings have been stayed by the High Court, continued impounding cannot be justified.
The writ petition was filed under Article 226 of the Constitution challenging the impounding of the petitioner’s passport on account of a pending criminal case. The petitioner informed the Court that the criminal proceedings, arising out of offences under Sections 323, 406, and 506 IPC, had already been stayed in a petition under Section 482 CrPC, and that a representation along with supporting documents had been submitted to the Passport Office seeking release of the passport.
On behalf of the authorities, it was argued that the petitioner should seek permission from the Magistrate concerned in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Rita Verma v. Union of India. However, the Division Bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary noted that the case was of a petty nature and that the High Court had already stayed the entire criminal proceedings after considering the material on record.
Taking these factors into account, the Court held that the continued impounding of the passport was unwarranted. It directed the authorities concerned to release the petitioner’s passport in accordance with law within three weeks.
The writ petition was accordingly disposed of with these directions.
Appearances:
Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Shivanshu Goswami, Arpit Verma, Prerna Jalan
Counsel for Respondent(s) : A.S.G.I.
