Allahabad High Court: Passport Cannot Be Withheld Due to Pending Criminal Case

Allahabad High Court: Passport Cannot Be Withheld Due to Pending Criminal Case

VoM News Desk | October 20, 2023 | 07:55 AM IST | Breaking News, Courts & Law | Follow on Google News

Allahabad High Court: Passport Cannot Be Withheld Due to Pending Criminal Case

Allahabad High Court: Passport Cannot Be Withheld Due to Pending Criminal Case

The Allahabad High Court has delivered a significant ruling stating that an individual’s passport application cannot be withheld solely on the grounds of having a pending criminal case. The court made this determination while addressing a writ petition filed by Akash Kumar from Jaunpur district.

A division bench, comprising Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Prashant Kumar, not only emphasized this principle but also directed passport authorities to process the petitioner’s application for a passport within six weeks.

The petitioner had sought the quashing of an order issued by Passport Seva Kendra, Varanasi, on July 21, 2023, which rejected his application citing an unclear police verification report.

Additionally, the petitioner urged the court to instruct the Regional Passport Office, Lucknow, and Passport Seva Kendra, Varanasi, to issue him a passport.

In court, the petitioner’s counsel argued that both the Supreme Court and the Allahabad High Court have established that a passport cannot be denied solely based on the existence of a pending criminal case. In support of this argument, the counsel cited the Allahabad High Court’s judgment in the case of Basoo Yadav vs Union of India (2022).

This ruling by the Allahabad High Court reaffirms the principle that passport issuance should not be arbitrarily denied to individuals facing criminal cases and underscores the importance of adhering to established legal precedents.

VoM News Desk

VoM News is an online web portal in jammu Kashmir offers regional, National & global news.