The Gujarat High Court granted bail to a man who was accused of changing his name, religion to Islam without informing the authorities and committing passport fraud, after prima facie noting that he had not committed any offence after changing his name. 

The man was seeking bail in an FIR lodged under Sections 336(2)(Forgery), 336(3)(Forgery for the Purpose of Cheating), 338(2)(Forgery of Valuable Security, Will, etc.) and 340(2) (Using a Forged Document as Genuine) BNS and Section 12(1)(b) of the Passport Act.

Section 12(1)(b) penalizes furnishing any false information or suppressing any material information with a view to obtaining a passport or travel document under the Act or without lawful authority alter or attempt to alter the entries made in a passport or travel document. 

It was alleged that the applicant a Hindu man, married a Muslim woman based on an allegedly forged Nikahnama. The applicant required a passport and accordingly applied for the same. However, his earlier passport was in his earlier Hindu name. The passport authority informed the police about the same, pursuant to which the present offence came to be registered. 

The prosecution claimed that the applicant changed his religion without informing the concerned authorities and thereafter obtained an Aadhaar Card, PAN Card, Ration Card, Election Card and other documents. 

Justice Hasmukh D Suthar in his order noted:

"It is an undisputed and admitted fact that the present applicant concealed his identity and changed his name. However, after changing his name, he has neither committed any offence nor indulged in any illegal activity. No offence has been registered either in the name of Abdul Rehman Khan or in the name of Yogendra Kumar Maurya. The present applicant had applied for a passport, pursuant to which the alleged incident came to light". 

"In the facts and circumstances of the case and considering the nature of the allegations made against the applicant in the FIR, without discussing the evidence in detail, prima facie, this Court is of the opinion that this is a fit case to exercise the discretion and enlarge the applicant on successive regular bail," the court added.

The court thus granted bail subject to certain conditions.