A.Saravanan v. The Regional Passport Officer,
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED: 12.03.2026
CORAM
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE HEMANT CHANDANGOUDAR A.Saravanan ... Petitioner vs.
1.The Regional Passport Officer, Regional Passport Office, New Municipal Complex, Thillainagar 7th Cross, Tiruchirappalli - 620 018.
2.The Inspector of Police, Thanjavur South Police Station, Thanjavur District.
3.The Inspector of Police, C2, Racecourse Police Station, Law and Order, Coimbatore City.
... Respondents PRAYER: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for issuance of Writ of Mandamus, to direct the 1st respondent to consider the clarification letter dated 18.02.2026 sent by the petitioner and consequently issue passport to the petitioner based on Passport Application File No. TR1074963549925 within a stipulated time fixed by this Court.
For Petitioner :Mr.M.Karthick For R1 :Ms.J.Padmavathi Devi For R2 and R3 :Mr.M.Vaikkam Karunanithi Government Advocate (crl.side) ***** 1/6
O R D E R
The petitioner is before this Court seeking issuance of a Writ of Mandamus directing the first respondent to consider the clarification letter dated 18.02.2026 and consequently issue a passport to the petitioner based on the passport application in File No. TR1074963549925.
2. The grievance of the petitioner is that though an application was submitted for issuance of a passport, the same has not been processed by the first respondent on the ground that a criminal case has been registered against the petitioner. According to the petitioner, pursuant to the notice issued by the first respondent, he submitted a clarification letter dated 18.02.2026 stating that the criminal case registered against him has already been quashed by this Court.
3. Mr. M. Vaikkam Karunanithi, learned Government Advocate (Criminal Side), on instructions, submitted that no case is registered 2/6
against the petitioner and that no criminal case is pending against him before any criminal court in India.
4. Heard the learned counsel appearing on either side and perused the materials available on record.
5. The refusal to issue or renew a passport is governed by the provisions of the Passport Act, 1967. Under Section 6 of the said Act, the Passport Authority is empowered to refuse issuance or renewal of a passport only under the circumstances specifically enumerated therein. One such circumstance is when proceedings in respect of an offence alleged to have been committed by the applicant are pending before a criminal court in India.
6. In the present case, the only reason cited for withholding the petitioner's application is that a criminal case had been registered against him. However, mere registration of an FIR does not fall within the grounds contemplated under Section 6 of the Passport Act for refusing 3/6
issuance or renewal of a passport. The statutory bar would arise only if criminal proceedings are pending before a competent criminal court. In the present case, this Court has already quashed the criminal complaint registered against the petitioner in Crl.O.P.(MD) No.26708 of 2025.
7. Therefore, the action of the first respondent in withholding the petitioner's application for issuance of a passport solely on the basis of registration of an FIR is contrary to the provisions of Section 6 of the Passport Act, 1967.
8. In view of the above, this Court finds merit in the contention raised by the petitioner.
9. Accordingly, this Writ Petition is allowed and the first respondent is directed to process the petitioner's passport application in File No. TR1074963549925 and issue the passport, subject to the petitioner satisfying all other eligibility requirements under law. This 4/6
exercise shall be completed within a period of four (4) weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.
Index :Yes / No 12.03.2026 Internet :Yes / No NCC :Yes / No cmr To 1.The Inspector of Police, Thanjavur South Police Station, Thanjavur District.
2.The Inspector of Police, C2, Racecourse Police Station, Law and Order, Coimbatore City.
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HEMANT CHANDANGOUDAR, J.
cmr 12.03.2026 6/6