Akhilesh Singh vs U.O.I. Thru. Secy. Ministry of External Affairs New Delhi India and 3 Others — Allahabad HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

Akhilesh Singh vs U.O.I. Thru. Secy. Ministry of External Affairs New Delhi India and 3 Others — Allahabad HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Application allowed; impugned order rejecting the NOC set aside; Trial Court directed to issue NOC for renewal of the passport to be processed for the normal period of 10 years; liberty to the prosecution to seek variance of the bail condition.

Issue for consideration

Whether the rejection of the NOC for grant/renewal of the applicant's passport is sustainable when the applicant is on bail in FIR No.441 of 2020 and no condition restricting travel abroad was imposed while granting bail.

Court's answer

In the present case there is no material to suggest that any restriction was placed in the bail order from travelling abroad.

Ratio / Principle

Adopting the reasoning in Ms. Sapna @ Sapna Choudhary (supra) and Mahesh Kumar Agarwal (supra), the impugned order rejecting the NOC is set aside.

Key takeaways

Trial Court concerned is directed to issue NOC to the applicant for grant of renewal of the passport, which shall be processed for a normal period of 10 years.ratio¶17
It shall be open to the prosecution to seek variance of the condition of the bail order, if so desired, based upon contingencies pleaded in the pending case.obiter¶18

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Passport — Renewal — NOC — Applicant, on bail in FIR No.441 of 2020 under Section 353 IPC read with Section 135 of Electricity Act, sought renewal of his valid passport and was required to furnish NOC of the Court concerned; the NOC was rejected by order dated 08.01.2025. Held: since no condition restraining the applicant from travelling abroad was imposed while granting bail and no material suggested any such restriction, the rejection could not stand. Adopting the reasoning in Ms. Sapna @ Sapna Choudhary v. State of U.P. & Anr., 2026:AHC-LKO:1015 (which relied on Mahesh Kumar Agarwal v. Union of India & Anr., 2025 INSC 1476), the impugned order was set aside; the Trial Court was directed to issue NOC for renewal of the passport, to be processed for the normal period of 10 years, with liberty to the prosecution to seek variance of the bail condition based on contingencies pleaded in the pending case. Application under Section 482 allowed. (Pankaj Bhatia, J.; January 21, 2026)

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD LUCKNOW

APPLICATION U/S 482 No. - 10850 of 2025

Akhilesh Singh

.....Applicant(s)

Versus

U.O.I. Thru. Secy. Ministry Of External Affairs New Delhi India And 3 Others .....Opposite Party(s) Counsel for Applicant(s) : Paritosh Shukla, Satish Tiwari Counsel for Opposite Party(s) : A.S.G.I.

Court No. - 12

HON'BLE PANKAJ BHATIA, J.

1. Heard learned counsel for the applicant; Shri S.B. Pandey, learned DSGI assisted by Shri Varun Pandey, learned counsel for respondent nos.1 & 2 and perused the record.

2. Present application has been filed seeking to challenge the order dated 08.01.2025 whereby the NOC applied for by the applicant for grant of passport has been rejected.

3. The facts, in brief, are that the applicant is a holder of valid passport and had applied for renewal of the passport, however, the applicant was asked to furnish the NOC of the Court where the FIR No.441 of 2020 was registered against the applicant under Section 353 IPC read with Section 135 of Electricity Act. The applicant is on bail in the said case and no condition of the applicant leaving India without permission was imposed as a condition while granting bail.

4. This aspect was duly considered by this Court in the case of Ms. Sapna @ Sapna Choudhary v. State of U.P. & Anr.; 2026:AHC-LKO:1015 wherein reliance was placed in the case of Mahesh Kumar Agarwal v. Union of India & Anr: 2025 INSC 1476 .

5. In the present case also, there is no material to suggest that any restriction was placed in the bail order from travelling abroad. Thus, adopting the reasoning as contained in the case of Ms. Sapna @ Sapna

A482 No. 10850 of 2025

2

Choudhary (supra) as well as Mahesh Kumar Agarwal (supra) , impugned order dated 08.12.2025 is set aside.

6. Trial Court concerned is directed to issue NOC to the applicant for grant of renewal of the passport which shall be processed for a normal period of 10 years.

7. It shall, however, be open to the prosecution to seek variance of the condition of the bail order, if so desired, based upon the contingencies that may be pleaded by the prosecution in the pending case.

8. Present application stands allowed in above terms.

(Pankaj Bhatia,J.)

January 21, 2026

nishant

Digitally signed by :- NISHANT MOHAN High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench