Pending criminal cases can’t bar 10-yr passport renewal, says HC

Panaji: The high court has held that a person against whom criminal cases are pending is entitled to the renewal of a passport for ten years. The renewal of the passport will not be restricted to a period of one year, the HC held.

It directed the regional passport office in Goa to renew the passport of a man —who has criminal cases pending against him in two courts — for the full ten-year period.In May this year, the HC directed the passport office to renew the same man’s passport without insisting on any specific order from the courts where his two cases are pending, as it involved only renewal.The passport authority then renewed his passport, but only for a year, prompting him to move the HC.

His advocate, Gautami Kamat, told the court that his passport ought to have been renewed for ten years.Central govt’s standing counsel, advocate Raviraj Chodankar, said the renewal of the passport in such cases must mandatorily be only for one year. After a year, the person must apply to the court concerned for an NOC to renew the passport, he submitted.The division bench comprising justices Bharati Dangre and Nivedita Mehta held that Union govt’s apprehensions were unfounded.

“In any case, merely possessing a passport is not a permission to travel abroad,” the bench said. “Even if the passport is renewed for ten years, since we are imposing a condition that in case the petitioner intends to travel abroad, he shall seek permission from the court where his case is pending, we find the apprehension expressed on behalf of the respondents in renewing the passport for the full time of ten years to be unfounded.

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