In a recent ruling in the case of Akash Kumar v. Union of India, the Allahabad High Court unequivocally established that an individual’s passport application cannot be denied solely on the grounds of a pending criminal case against them.
A division bench consisting of Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Prashant Kumar issued a directive to the passport authorities, instructing them to make a decision on the petitioner’s passport application for issuance within a six-week timeframe.
The case revolved around Akash Kumar, who had challenged a decision by the passport authorities rejecting his application due to an unclear police verification report.
The Central government’s counsel, NK Chatterji, cited an adverse police verification report that contained references to a case registered under Section 323 and 504 of the IPC with the NCR No. 203/2022 against the applicant-petitioner. Chatterji also mentioned that a show cause notice had been issued to the petitioner, requesting his response in the matter, although no response had been received at that point.
However, the petitioner’s counsel argued that according to the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, if there is no magistrate’s order for an investigation under Section 155(1) CrPC, then no police officer should investigate a non-cognizable case. Furthermore, it was pointed out that the NCR was from the year 2020, and in accordance with Section 468 CrPC, if the case’s cognizance could not be taken within the stipulated period, the report of the non-cognizable case would become a worthless document. In light of these arguments, the petitioner’s counsel strongly contended that the petitioner had not been convicted in any case to date and had no criminal history apart from the aforementioned case.
The petitioner’s counsel also referenced a Supreme Court judgment in the case of Vangala Kasturi Rangacharyulu vs. Central Bureau of Investigation, which established that passport authorities cannot refuse passport renewal on the grounds of pending criminal appeals.
Consequently, the High Court directed the passport authority to process the petitioner’s passport application within six weeks, considering the observations made by the Supreme Court and the judgment in the case of Basoo Yadav.
Advocates Shashi Kant Shukla and Sadhana Dubey represented the petitioner, while Assistant Solicitor General Narendra Kumar Chatterjee appeared on behalf of the Union of India.