Rajasthan High Court Permits Passport Renewal Despite 23 Pending Criminal Cases, Cites Fundamental Right To Travel Abroad

The Rajasthan High Court recently quashed an order of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kota, rejecting a 66-year-old man's application for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to renew his passport.

The bench of Justice Chandra Prakash Shrimali held that preventing a person from travelling abroad by denying their passport renewal merely because of pending criminal cases is a direct violation of the fundamental rights enshrined in Article 21.

For context, the petitioner is accused of offences like cheating and forgery and around 23 criminal cases are currently pending against him in the trial court.

During the proceedings, the petitioner filed an application seeking renewal of his passport, which the Magistrate rejected on April 8, 2024, on the grounds of the volume of pending cases against him.

Hence, the present petition was filed before the High Court under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

At the outset, the Court noted that while the petitioner faced 23 pending cases, the trials had not concluded and he had not been convicted in any of them.

Furthermore, the Court also took note of the petitioner's plea that his children reside abroad and he wishes to visit them.

The Court referred to the relevant statutory provisions, specifically Section 6(2)(e) Passports Act, 1967, as well as relevant orders passed by various High Courts and the Apex Court, to observe that the right to travel abroad could not be deprived except by following a just, fair and reasonable procedure.

While underscoring the right to travel abroad as a fundamental right under Article 21, the Court observed that mere pendency of a criminal case was not a ground for refusing a passport renewal.

The Court highlighted that the impugned order was passed by the Magistrate without proper reasoning or consideration of the relevant legal provisions governing an accused's right to renew his passport. It was held that the order was not in accordance with the law.

The Court held that the petitioner's renewal application should have been considered on the merits, in accordance with the relevant statutory provisions and binding judicial precedents.

Accordingly, the Magistrate's order was set aside. The Court directed the competent passport authority to process the petitioner's new renewal application within 30 days of its submission, strictly in accordance with Section 5 of the Passports Act, without being influenced by the CJM's order.

Title: Surendra Pal Singh Sahni v State of Rajasthan

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Raj) 169

For Petitioners: Mr. Suresh Kumar Sahni, Adv,; Mr. Ram Mohan Sharma, Adv.

For Respondents: Mr. Onkar Singh Rajpurohit, PP

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