Manthena Venkatasurya Narasa Raju v. Union of India
Case brief
What is this about?
Passport renewal refusal pendency of criminal cases; issuance/re-issuance/renewal of passport despite pending criminal proceedings; Article 21 right to travel abroad; Article 14 arbitrariness; mandamus under Article 226; Section 10 Passports Act 1967; Rule 12 Passport Rules 1980; GSR 570(E) notification; presumption of innocence; res integra; conditions - undertaking, affidavit, deposit of passport before trial court, trial court permission to travel. Bench: Battu Devanand J (single member), High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Amaravati, decision 07.04.2026, batch of 12 writ petitions (W.P. Nos. 5769, 5835, 6154, 6317, 6558, 7015, 7031, 7129, 7234, 8290, 8686, 8731 of 2026), disposition allowed at admission stage. Precedents engaged: Vangala Kasturi Rangacharyulu v. CBI (2020 Crl.L.J. (SC) 572); Sumit Mehta v. State of NCT of Delhi (2013 (15) SCC 570); Menaka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978 (1) SCC 248); Satish Chandra Verma v. UOI (MANU/SC/0826/2019); Sannith Reddy Mandhadi v. UOI (MANU/TL/0305/2024); Mahesh Kumar Agarwal v. UOI (2025 INSC 1476). Useful for advocates opposing passport authorities' reliance solely on pending criminal cases.