FIVE POINTERS OF THE DEVELOPMENT
The Issue
Actor Kangana Ranaut, booked by the Bandra Police on sedition charges along with her sister Rangoli Chandel, has moved to the Bombay High Court, seeking directions to authorities to renew her passport so she can go abroad for the shooting of a film. A division bench led by Justice Prasanna B Varale will hear the plea on Tuesday. The interim application filed through advocate Rizwan Siddiquee last week stated that Ranaut needs to fly to Hungary for the shooting of her movie ‘Dhaakad’, from June 15 to August 30, 2021.
The grounds for Non-renewal mentioned by authorities
The plea said that Ranaut’s passport is to expire on September 15, and therefore she had applied for its renewal to the Passport Authority of India. However, as per plea, the authority raised objections, stating that the Bandra FIR filed against her is an impediment to the renewal. In October last year, the Metropolitan Magistrate’s court at Bandra had ordered the police to investigate a complaint filed by Munawwar Ali Sayyed, a Bollywood casting director and fitness trainer, which referred to tweets and statements by Ranaut and Chandel allegedly defaming Bollywood and spreading ‘division and hatred between Hindu and Muslim communities. On the direction of the court, the Bandra police registered an FIR against Ms. Ranaut and her sister under IPC sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, etc), 295A (deliberate acts hurting religious sentiments) and 124-A (sedition).
Indian Passport
The validity of an Indian passport is for 10 years from its date of issue.
An Indian passport may comprise 36 or 60 pages according to the wish of the holder. In India, there are generally 3 kinds of passports that a citizen may apply for. They are:
- Regular Passport
- Diplomatic Passport
- Official Passport
A passport holder must ensure that the passport is valid, and has not expired, in order to continue availing the benefits of the same.
Renewal of the Passport
When a passport expires, the passport holder may renew the same on the Passport Seva Portal.
Fresh police verification would take place if you apply for a re-issue of your passport after the expiry of your old passport more than three years ago. Processing time depend on the availability of a clear Police Verification report from the Concerned Authority in India.
Provision of Law under the Passport Act
(2) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the passport authority shall refuse to issue a passport or travel document for visiting any foreign country under clause of sub-section (2) of section 5 on any one or more of the following grounds, and on no other ground, namely:-
(f) that proceedings in respect of an offence alleged to have been committed by the applicant are pending before a criminal court in India;
Right to Unhindered Movement
Karnataka High Court: Hemant Chandangoudar J. in Mr Krishna Chiranjeevi Rao vs The Union Of India decided on 1 October 2020, while allowing the Writ Petition against the Passport Authority, had elaborated upon the relevant provisions of the Passport Act and the Right to unhindered movement as a facet to Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The court held with respect to the refusal of Passport upon the pendency of the criminal case, the Court elaborated over Section 6(2)(f) of the Passport Act, stating,
“A reading of Section 6(2)(f) of the Passport Act indicates that the passport authority shall refuse to issue a passport or travel document for visiting any foreign country if a criminal proceeding is pending against the applicant in India.” However, the said provision does not provide for refusing to issue a passport for a person who intends to travel back to India. Hence, reading of this provision clearly indicates that it is applicable only for issuing a fresh passport and not for renewal of passport and this view is fortified by the decision of the Delhi High Court rendered in the case of Ashok Khanna v. Central Bureau of Investigation, 265 (2019) DLT 614”
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