APHC010482512025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH TUESDAY,THE SIXTEENTH DAY OF JUNE TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY SIX THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE RAVI CHEEMALAPATI WRIT PETITION NO: 24955/2025 Between: 1. BORRA SIVA RAMI REDDY, S/O BORRA RAMA CHANDRA REDDY, AGED ABOUT 39 YEARS. RESIDENT OF H.NO. 1 /44, RAVULAPALLE, KHAJIPET, YSR KADAPA DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH-516203. 1. UNION OF INDIA, REPRESENTED BY JOINT SECRETARY AND CPO PSP DIVISION, MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, PATIALA HOUSE, TILAK MARG, NEW DELHI-110001. 2. REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICER, O/O REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICE, MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, 4TH FLOOR, GOVERNORPET, M.G.ROAD, VIJAYAWADA DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH STATE 3. PASSPORT OFFICE, PASSPORT SEVA KENDRA, POST OFFICE PSK, KADAPA, HEAD POST OFFICE, NEAR ONE TOWN POLICE STATION, KADAPA, ANDHRA PRADESH REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICER. 4. THE SUB INSPECTOR OF POLICE, KHAJIPET POLICE STATION, YSR KADAPA DISTRICT. 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) TUESDAY,THE SIXTEENTH DAY OF JUNE TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY SIX PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE RAVI CHEEMALAPATI WRIT PETITION NO: 24955/2025 BORRA SIVA RAMI REDDY, S/O BORRA RAMA CHANDRA REDDY, AGED ABOUT 39 YEARS. RESIDENT OF H.NO. 1 /44, RAVULAPALLE, KHAJIPET, YSR KADAPA DISTRICT, ANDHRA 516203. ...PETITIONER AND UNION OF INDIA, REPRESENTED BY JOINT SECRETARY AND CPO PSP DIVISION, MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, PATIALA HOUSE, TILAK MARG, NEW REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICER, O/O REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICE, MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, 4TH FLOOR, STALIN CENTRAL, D.NO.27 GOVERNORPET, M.G.ROAD, VIJAYAWADA-520002, NTR DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH STATE PASSPORT OFFICE, PASSPORT SEVA KENDRA, POST OFFICE PSK, KADAPA, HEAD POST OFFICE, NEAR ONE TOWN POLICE STATION, KADAPA, ANDHRA PRADESH-516001, REP BY REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICER. THE SUB INSPECTOR OF POLICE, KHAJIPET POLICE STATION, YSR KADAPA DISTRICT. RC,J W.P.No.24955 of 2025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH [3332] TUESDAY,THE SIXTEENTH DAY OF JUNE THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE RAVI CHEEMALAPATI BORRA SIVA RAMI REDDY, S/O BORRA RAMA CHANDRA REDDY, AGED ABOUT 39 YEARS. RESIDENT OF H.NO. 1 /44, RAVULAPALLE, KHAJIPET, YSR KADAPA DISTRICT, ANDHRA ...PETITIONER UNION OF INDIA, REPRESENTED BY JOINT SECRETARY (PSP) AND CPO PSP DIVISION, MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, PATIALA HOUSE, TILAK MARG, NEW REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICER, O/O REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICE, MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, GOVERNMENT OF STALIN CENTRAL, D.NO.27-37-158, 520002, NTR PASSPORT OFFICE, PASSPORT SEVA KENDRA, POST OFFICE PSK, KADAPA, HEAD POST OFFICE, NEAR ONE TOWN POLICE 516001, REP BY THE SUB INSPECTOR OF POLICE, KHAJIPET POLICE STATION, RC,J W.P.No.24955 of 2025 2 5. THE FOREST RANGE OFFICER, PRODDATUR DIVISION, YSR KADAPA DISTRICT. ...RESPONDENT(S): Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed therewith, the High Court may be pleased to issue a writ, order or direction, more particularly one in the nature of Mandamus declaring the action of the 2nd respondent in not issuing passport to petitioner pursuant to the petitioners application vide file number VJ4066857643124 dt 19/08/2024 on the ground of pending Criminal Case is illegal, arbitrary, unjust and violative of Art 14 of Constitution of India and contrary to the provisions of Passport Act, 1967 and consequently direct the 2nd respondent to issue passport to the petitioner without reference to Cr No. 148 of 2012 of Khajipet Police Station, YSR Kadapa District and pass IA NO: 1 OF 2025 Petition under Section 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased to issue interim directions to the 2nd respondent to issue passport to the petitioner pursuant to petitioner’s application with File number VJ4066857643124 dt 19/08/2024 without reference to criminal case pending against the petitioner, pending the disposal of writ petition. and pass Counsel for the Petitioner: 1. T V SRI DEVI Counsel for the Respondent(S): 1. GP FOR HOME 2. GP FOR FORESTS 3. NARASIMHARAO GUDISEVA (CENTRAL GOVT COUNSEL) The Court made the following: RC,J W.P.No.24955 of 2025 3 ORDER The grievance of the petitioner, in short, is that the passport authorities are not issuing passport, on the ground of pending criminal case against him. 2. Heard Sri C.Upendra, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri Narasimha Rao Gudiseva, learned Deputy Solicitor General of India. 3. Sri C.Upendra, learned counsel for the petitioner, would submit that charge sheet is yet to be filed and mere registration of Crime would not amount to pendency of criminal proceedings before a Criminal Court. Unless a Criminal Proceedings are pending before a Criminal Court as envisaged under Section 6(2)(f) of the Passports Act, 1967, the passport authorities cannot deny issuance of the passport. Thus, the action of the passport authorities is not justified. Hence, prayed to allow the Writ Petition. 4. On the other hand, the learned Deputy Solicitor General would submit that pursuant to the adverse police verification the authorities declined to consider the request of the petitioner for issuance of passport. Hence, there are no merits in the writ petition and the same deserves dismissal. 5. Perused the material available on record and considered the submissions made by learned counsel for the parties. 6. The contents of the affidavit would disclose that initially the petitioner made an application for issuance of passport in the year 2017 and RC,J W.P.No.24955 of 2025 4 the same was rejected on the ground of pendency of criminal case, thereby the petitioner filed Crl.P.No.12399 of 2017 before the unified High Court of Andhra Pradesh to quash FIR in Cr.No.148 of 2012 of Khajipet Police Station, YSR Kadapa District and the said Crl.P. was disposed of on 14.12.2017 directing the police to file final report/charge sheet within 15 days from the date of receipt of copy of the order and despite lapse more than 8 years no charge sheet has been laid by the police. Therefore, the petitioner made fresh application for issuance of passport and in response the respondent no.2- Regional Passport Officer, Vijayawada through letter dated 28.09.2024 informed that he application of the petitioner is pending for clarification as they received adverse police verification report since the petitioner is shown as accused in Cr.No.148 of 2012 of Khajipet Police. 7. Section 6(2) of the Passport Act, 1967 is germane and the same is extracted hereunder: Section 6(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 (c) of sub-section (2) of section 5 on any one or more of the following grounds, and on no other ground, namely: - (a) that the applicant is not a citizen of India., (b) that the applicant may, or is likely to, engage outside India in activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India., (c) that the departure of the applicant from India may, or is likely to, be detrimental to the security of India; (d) that the presence of the applicant outside India may, or is likely to, prejudice the friendly relations of India with any foreign country; (e) that the applicant has, at any time during the period of five years immediately preceding the date of his application, been convicted by a court in India for any offence involving moral turpitude and sentenced in respect thereof to imprisonment for not less than two years; (f) that proceedings in respect of an offence alleged to have been committed by the applicant are pending before a criminal court in India; RC,J W.P.No.24955 of 2025 5 (g) that a warrant or summons for the appearance, or a warrant for the arrest, of the applicant has been issued by a court under any law for the time being in force or that an order prohibiting the departure from India of the applicant has been made by any such court; (h) that the applicant has been repatriated and has not reimbursed the expenditure incurred in connection with such repatriation; (i) that in the opinion of the Central Government the issue of a passport or travel document to the applicant will not be in the public interest. 8. Section 6(2) (f) relates to a situation where the applicant is facing trail in a criminal court. Section 6(2)(f) of the Passport Act, 1967, has been considered on several occasions by the Hon’ble Apex Court and High Courts. The Hon’ble Supreme Court as well as various High Courts held that mere pendency of a First Information Report cannot be the legal basis for denial of issuance of a regular passport to the petitioner and that it is only after cognizance is taken by an appropriate Court that it can be held that criminal proceedings have commenced and issuance or renewal of the passport would depend on no objection being given by the concerned court. 9. In Vagala Venkata Siva Kumar Vs State of Andhra Pradesh, this Court has categorically held that, as per Section 6(2)(f) of the Passport Act, 1967, the passport authority shall refuse to issue passport or travel document for visiting any foreign country, if criminal proceedings are pending against the applicant in India. 10. In view of the observations held above, unless charge sheet is filed and the same is taken cognizance of by the concerned committal Court, mere registration of a crime would not amount to pendency of criminal proceeding, which empowers the passport authorities to withhold issuance or renewal of RC,J W.P.No.24955 of 2025 6 passport. In the instant case, the submissions made by both the learned counsel would indicate that charge sheet is yet to be filed. Thus, Section 6(2)(f) would not attract to the facts of the case. 11. In view of the same, this Writ Petition is disposed of, directing the authorities to consider the application and issue passport, if it meets all the necessary requirements, other than the objection regarding pendency of crime. There shall be no order as to costs. Pending miscellaneous petitions, if any, shall stand closed. __________________________ JUSTICE RAVI CHEEMALAPATI 16th June, 2026. RR