Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:39361-DB Court No. - 29 Case :- WRIT - C No. - 7900 of 2025 Petitioner :- Ravi Kumar Respondent :- Union Of India And 3 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Antima Rajbhar,Hari Prakash Tiwari Counsel for Respondent :- A.S.G.I.,C.S.C.,Navin Chandra Srivastava Hon'ble Ashwani Kumar Mishra,J. Hon'ble Donadi Ramesh,J. Heard Ms. Antima Rajbhar, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri Navin Chandra Srivastava, learned counsel for the respondents. Petitioner has moved an application for issuance of passport. A show cause notice has been issued to the petitioner that Case Crime No.0285 of 2023, under Sections 34, 506, 504, 427, 323 IPC, Police Station Maharajganj, District Azamgarh is pending against him. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the offence in which the petitioner is implicated provides for maximum sentence up to two years and since Section 6(2)(e) of the Passport Act, 1967 prohibits issuance of passport only in cases where conviction is for a term of more than two years during the last five years in a case of moral turpitude. The pendency of such case cannot be a bar in consideration of petitioner's application for issuance of passport. Section 6(2)(e) of the Passport Act, 1967 reads as under:- "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:— (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;" It is only in a case where where the conviction if for a term of more than two years involving a case of moral turpitude during the last five years that the question would arise for applicability of Section 6(2)(e) of the Passport Act, 1967. It is admitted to learned counsel for the respondents that the sections in which the petitioner is charged the maximum sentence is below two years. Once that be so, none of the exigencies are attracted so as to invoke the provisions of Section 6(2)(e) of the Passport Act, 1967. In the facts of the case, we permit the petitioner to respond to the show cause notice by specifying the facts, as are placed before us and it goes without saying that the Regional Passport Officer shall accord consideration to such reply of the petitioner, keeping in view Section 6(2)(e) of the Passport Act, 1967, by passing an appropriate reasoned order, within a period of four weeks of such application. With the above observation/direction, the writ petition stands disposed of. Order Date :- 19.3.2025 RA Digitally signed by :- RAZIQ ALI High Court of Judicature at Allahabad