Disposed¶33

Balasubramanian v. The Regional Passport Officer

Madras HC27 Mar 2026WP(MD)/8374/2026

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Passport refusal; FIR registration not a valid ground under Section 6, Passports Act 1967; statutory bar only on pendency of criminal proceedings before a competent criminal court; writ of mandamus under Article 226 against Regional Passport Officer, Tiruchirappalli; Crime No.289 of 2025, Aranthangi Police Station, Pudukkottai; petition disposed with direction to issue passport within four weeks; W.P.(MD)No.8374 of 2026, decided 27.03.2026.

What did the court decide?

Writ petition disposed of with a direction to the first respondent to process the petitioner's passport application (File No. TR2065667166925 dated 22.09.2025) and issue the passport, subject to the petitioner satisfying all other eligibility criteria prescribed under law, within four weeks from receipt of a copy of the order. ¶33

Balasubramanian Vs The Regional Passport Officer — Writ and Judicial Review | Madras HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

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Issue for consideration

Whether the first respondent could lawfully withhold the petitioner's passport application solely because an FIR (Crime No.289 of 2025) had been registered and the case remained under investigation, given that Section 6 of the Passports Act, 1967 confines refusal to specifically enumerated grounds.

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Court's answer

Refusal to issue or renew a passport is governed by the Passports Act, 1967; under Section 6 the Passport Authority may refuse issuance or renewal only in the circumstances specifically enumerated therein.

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Ratio / Principle

Mere registration of an FIR against the applicant does not fall within the grounds contemplated under Section 6 of the Passports Act, 1967.

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Key takeaways

The statutory bar under the Passports Act arises only when criminal proceedings are pending before a competent criminal court, not upon mere registration of an FIR.ratio¶25
The action of the first respondent in withholding the petitioner's application solely on the basis of the registration of an FIR is not in consonance with the provisions of the Passports Act, 1967.ratio¶26
The processing of the application and issuance of the passport shall be completed within four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the order.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Mandamus writ (Madras High Court, Madurai Bench; single judge Hemant Chandangoudar) by Balasubramanian against the Regional Passport Officer, Tiruchirappalli, whose office withheld his passport application (File No. TR2065667166925 dated 22.09.2025) on the sole ground of an FIR registered against him in Crime No.289 of 2025 (Aranthangi Police Station, Pudukkottai District; case under investigation, no charge sheet filed). Held: under Section 6 of the Passports Act, 1967, refusal of issuance or renewal is confined to the circumstances specifically enumerated therein; mere registration of an FIR is not such a ground, and the statutory bar arises only when criminal proceedings are pending before a competent criminal court; withholding the application solely on the basis of an FIR is therefore not in consonance with the Act. Petition disposed of with a direction to process the application and issue the passport, subject to satisfaction of all other eligibility criteria, within four weeks from receipt of a copy of the order.

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W.P.(MD)No.8374 of 2026

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BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT

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DATED: 27.03.2026

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CORAM

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THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE HEMANT CHANDANGOUDAR W.P.(MD)No.8374 of 2026

Balasubramanian

... Petitioner

vs.

1.The Regional Passport Officer, Regional Passport Office, New Municipal Complex, Thillai Nagar 7^th Cross, Tiruchirappalli - 620 018.

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2.The Inspector of Police, Aranthangi Police Station, Pudukkottai District.

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... Respondents

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PRAYER: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for issuance of Writ of Mandamus, to direct the respondent no.1 to issue the passport to the petitioner in Application File No. TR2065667166925 dated 22.09.2025 within the time stipulated by this Court.

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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W.P.(MD)No.8374 of 2026

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For Petitioner	:Mr.S.Gurumoorthy
For R1	:Mr.R.Saravanakumar
	Central Government Standing Counsel
For R2	:Mr.M.Vaikkam Karunanithi
	Government Advocate (Crl.side) *****

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O R D E R

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The petitioner is before this Court seeking issuance of a Writ of Mandamus directing the first respondent to issue a passport in his favour pursuant to his application in File No. TR2065667166925 dated 22.09.2025.

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The said application has not been processed on the ground that a criminal case has been registered against the petitioner in Crime No.289 of 2025. It is stated that the case is still under investigation and no charge sheet has been filed.

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Heard the learned counsel appearing on either side and perused the materials available on record.

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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W.P.(MD)No.8374 of 2026

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The refusal to issue or renew a passport is governed by the provisions of the Passports Act, 1967. Under Section 6 of the Act, the Passport Authority is empowered to refuse issuance or renewal of a passport only in the circumstances specifically enumerated therein. One such ground is where proceedings in respect of an offence alleged to have been committed by the applicant are pending before a criminal court in India.

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In the present case, the only reason cited by the respondents is the registration of an FIR against the petitioner. However, mere registration of an FIR does not fall within the grounds contemplated under Section 6 of the Act. The statutory bar would arise only when criminal proceedings are pending before a competent criminal court.

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Therefore, the action of the first respondent in withholding the petitioner’s application solely on the basis of the registration of an FIR is not in consonance with the provisions of the Passports Act, 1967.

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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W.P.(MD)No.8374 of 2026

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In view of the above, this Court finds merit in the petitioner’s

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case.

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Accordingly, the writ petition is disposed of with a direction to

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the first respondent to process the petitioner’s application for issuance of passport bearing File No. TR2065667166925 dated 22.09.2025 and issue the passport, subject to the petitioner satisfying all other eligibility criteria prescribed under law.

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