officials have no right on their own to impound the passport by seizure and withholding, but for the officials under the provisions of the Indian Passport Act, 1967 (for short ‘the Act’) (Section 10). However, as held by the Apex Court in Siddharam Sat lingappa Mhet re Vs St at e of Maharast ra4 in its guidelines as part of the conditions of bail to be granted that besides property title deeds and bank account and passport of accused, if any, required to be deposited before the learned Magistrate. It is there from in the expression in Abdul Gaffur Khan’s case referred to supra, this Court observed that impounding the passport by investigating officer is entirely different from seeking to deposit the passport by the Court as one of the conditions of bail to see that the accused shall not jump the bail and flew from the clutches of justice by using or misusing the passport. It is also observed that there is a bar also under Section 6 (2) (f) of the Act to use Passport without permission of Court as a person who is accused of any crime in India, passport cannot be obtained including travel permit on existing passport to travel beyond the country without prior permission of the Magistrate concerned and there is a circular of the Central Government in GSR 570 E, dated 25.08.1993, as per Section 22 of the Act, issued in this regard by the Ministry of External Affairs in the public interest that by said notification exempted the citizens of India against whom criminal proceedings are pending in India, without facing any hardship for their
