One-yr passport validity justified if accused gets NOC to travel abroad: Allahabad HC

Prayagraj, Nov 4 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court has observed that if a competent court grants permission to a person accused in a criminal case to travel abroad without specifying the duration, issuing a passport valid for only one year is justified.

A two-judge bench of justices Ajit Kumar and Swarupama Chaturvedi said this while dismissing a plea seeking reissuance of 10-year passport based on an NOC granted by the chief judicial magistrate of Pilibhit.

"Where no specific period is stated in the order of the competent court, the passport may be issued for one year at a time and the said period can be extended by way of renewal as per law if the application is made before the authorities, provided that the applicant has not yet travelled abroad during the court-sanctioned period and that the court's order has not been modified or revoked in the meantime," it said.

A criminal case under Section 447 IPC and Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 was pending against the petitioner.

The petitioner approached the CJM court which granted him an NOC on October 10, 2024. Following the NOC, the Regional Passport Office in Bareilly issued a passport valid for one year (January 20, 2025 to January 19, 2026).

However, the petitioner later sought renewal for a full 10-year period. He argued that once permission had been granted by the competent court, the statutory period prescribed under the Passport Act, 1967 should apply.

The passport authority, however, contended that since the court order did not specify any duration for which the passport was to be issued, the validity was rightly restricted to one year in line with the notification dated August 25, 1993 issued by the external affairs ministry. PTI COR RAJ ZMN