HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD LUCKNOW WRIT - C No. - 10326 of 2025 Court No. - 5 HON'BLE ALOK MATHUR, J. HON'BLE PRASHANT KUMAR, J. 1. Heard Shri Mahendra Pratap Singh, learned counsel for the petitioner, Shri Varun Pandey, learned counsel for Union of India-respondent Nos.1 and 5 and learned standing counsel for State-respondent Nos.2 to 4. 2. It has been submitted by counsel for the petitioner that he had made an application on October 9, 2024 for issuance of a passport. Subsequently, the contents of the application were sought to be verified for which purpose the application was forwarded to Superintendent of Police, Raebareli. The Regional Passport Officer proceeded to impound the passport of the petitioner on 12.03.2025. 3. It is further submitted that earlier one criminal case was registered against the petitioner as Case Crime No.98 of 2020, under Sections 269 IPC and Section 13 of the Public Gambling Act, 1867, P.S. Khiron, District Raebareli in which charge-sheet has also been filed. Arising out of aforesaid case crime number, Case No.18/2020, State Government vs. Mahesh Kumar Pasi and others, has been registered before the trial court and the trial court has decided the case vide judgment and order dated 01.07.2025 passed by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate-IV, Raebareli whereby the petitioner has been punished with the punishment of fine of Rs.500/- for offence under Section 269 of IPC and also Rs.500/- for an offence under Section 13 of the Public Gambling Act, 1867. The petitioner has deposited total fine of Rs.1,000/- before the learned court Versus Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Mahendra Pratap Singh Counsel for Respondent(s) : A.S.G.I., C.S.C. Ramesh Kumar .....Petitioner(s) U.O.I. Thru. Secy. Ministry Of External Affairs New Delhi And 4 Others .....Respondent(s) below. 4. He further submits that after the order of impounding was passed, the petitioner personally appeared before the Regional Passport Officer on July 4, 2025 and pursue his case for grant of passport stating that the criminal proceedings are no longer pending and the matter has been concluded after imposing a fine of Rs.1,000/- by means of order dated July 1, 2025. 5. It is in these circumstances, the Regional Passport Officer has sought for afresh police report which has been tendered where again they have mentioned about the pendency of the criminal case against the petitioner. It is in the aforesaid circumstances that the present writ petition has been filed seeking a direction to Regional Passport Officer, Lucknow to consider the application of the petitioner dated October 9, 2024 for issuing a passport. 6. Shri Varun Pandey, learned counsel submits that the passport has impounded during pendency of the criminal proceedings and he does not dispute the fact that subsequently, the criminal proceedings have concluded while imposing a fine of Rs.1,000/- on the petitioner by means of order dated July 1, 2025. It is further submitted that as per the provisions of Section 6(ii)(e) of the Passport Act, 1967 a Passport can be refused only in circumstances where the applicant has, at any time during period of five years immediately preceding the date of his application, been convicted by a court of India for an offence involving moral turpitude and sentenced in respect thereof to imprisonment for not less than two years. In the present case, evidently, provisions of Section 6 of the Passport Act would not apply and consequently, merely on account of his conviction and imposition of fine of Rs.1,000/-, the passport can not be refused. 7. Accordingly, it is in the aforesaid circumstances, the Regional Passport Officer is required to re-consider the order for impounding the passport of the petitioner and also his case for issuance of a fresh passport as the proceedings are already pending before the Passport Officer. Apart from the police report, he is directed to consider the effect of the order of the WRIC No. 10326 of 2025 2 Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate-IV, Raebareli dated July 1, 2025 where a fine of Rs.1,000/- only has been imposed. 8. Let necessary orders be passed by the Regional Passport Officer with expedition within a period of six weeks from the date of production of a certified copy of this order before him in accordance with law however, the petitioner undertakes to cooperate in the proceedings and appear before the Regional Passport Officer. 9. In light of the above, the petition is disposed of. November 6, 2025 Saurabh Yadav/- WRIC No. 10326 of 2025 3 (Prashant Kumar,J.) (Alok Mathur,J.) Digitally signed by :- SAURABH YADAV High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench