Muthupandi vs. The Regional Passport Officer

Held

The Court held that there is no legal bar in processing the petitioner's passport application under Sections 6(2)(f) and 10(3)(e) of the Indian Passport Act, 1967, and the relevant GST Notification, as no criminal case is presently pending before a court. However, considering that the charge sheet was ready, the Court directed the second respondent (Inspector of Police) to ensure the charge sheet is taken on file by the Juvenile Justice Board, Thanjavur, within three months from the date of the order. If the charge sheet is not filed within this period, the first respondent (Regional Passport Officer) shall proceed to issue the passport. If the charge sheet is filed within the stipulated time, the petitioner would need to file a suitable application before the Juvenile Justice Board for appropriate orders for the passport application to be processed. The issue of whether the petitioner's minor status at the time of the offence would impact the passport application was implicitly addressed by directing the filing of the charge sheet before the Juvenile Justice Board.

Facts

The petitioner, Muthupandi, filed a writ petition seeking a direction to the Regional Passport Officer to process his passport application. The petitioner is the fifth accused in Crime No.19/2022, registered for offences under Section 379 IPC read with Section 21(1) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. The Inspector of Police informed the Court that the petitioner was a minor at the time of the alleged offence and that a charge sheet was prepared on 29.10.2024 but was yet to be filed before the Juvenile Justice Board, Thanjavur. The petitioner had also made representations to the authorities.

Key Issues

1. Whether there is a legal bar to processing the petitioner's passport application under Sections 6(2)(f) and 10(3)(e) of the Indian Passport Act, 1967, in light of the pending criminal case and the petitioner's status as a minor at the time of the alleged offence? Petitioner's contention: The petitioner argued that there is no legal bar to processing his passport application as no criminal case is currently pending before a court of law, and he was a minor at the time of the alleged offence. Reliance was placed on the Notification issued by the Central Government in GST No.570(E), Ministry of External Affairs, dated 25.08.1993. Revenue/State's contention: The respondents did not explicitly argue against the processing of the passport application but informed the court about the status of the charge sheet preparation and the need for it to be filed before the Juvenile Justice Board.