Mere filing of B report wouldn’t make applicant allegation-free under Passports Act, says HC

The High Court has said that mere filing of B report (closure report) would not mean that an applicant becomes allegation free qua section 6 (2) (f) of the Passports Act, 1967. Justice M Nagaprasanna said this while dismissing a petition, challenging the notice issued by the Regional Passport Office, Bengaluru, calling upon to surrender the passport.

Section 6(2)(f) mandates that if proceedings are pending in respect of an offence, alleged to have been committed by the applicant, the passport authority would have the right to refuse the issuance of passport or travel documents for visiting any foreign country.

After the expiry of the passport, the petitioner had filed an application for reissuance. Though the Regional Passport Officer reissued the passport, it was revealed in the police verification, carried out as a routine in every case, that the petitioner was involved in a criminal case in 2021. Pointing out that the petitioner had suppressed the factum of pendency of a criminal case and secured the passport by misrepresentation, a notice was issued directing to surrender the passport.

The petitioner contended that surrendering of passport can be made only when the petitioner is held guilty for furnishing any false information in terms of Section 12(1)(b) of the Passports Act,1967, which according to the petitioner is not applicable to the facts of the case. On the other hand, it was argued on behalf of the passport authorities that for reissuance of the passport in terms of section 6 of the Act, the applicant should be free of crime. It was further submitted that filing of ‘B’ report does not make the petitioner free of crime as ‘B’ report could be accepted or rejected by the learned Magistrate. In the case at hand, the trial court is yet to accept the B report.

The court said that the rigour of section 6(2)(f) of the Act gets evaporated only when the applicant facing criminal proceedings or a FIR is acquitted, discharged or the proceeding against the said applicant is quashed by a competent court of law. “In terms of the clause 7.1 of the application, the applicant is supposed to divulge details of any criminal proceedings, warrant pending against the applicant and also is required to attach a no-objection certificate from the court to depart from India. This obligation is admittedly not fulfilled by the petitioner,” the court said.