High Court
Case Details
Neutral Citation No. - 2024:AHC:189180 Court No. - 77 Case :- APPLICATION U/S 482 No. - 19724 of 2024 Applicant :- Vinod Kumar Tomar Alias Vinod Kumar Opposite Party :- State of U.P. Counsel for Applicant :- Pradeep Kumar Rai,Prakhar Saran Srivastava Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Sanjay Kumar Pachori,J. 1. Shri Prakhar Saran Srivastava, learned counsel for the applicant and Shri Rahul Pandey, learned brief holder for the State are present. 2. Present application under Section 482, Cr.P.C. has been filed by the applicant to quash the order dated 25.4.2024 passed by Chief Judicial
Legal Reasoning
Magistrate, Ghaziabad in case arising out of case crime No. 1708 of 2023, under Sections 279, 304-A, 427, I.P.C., Police Station Indirapuram, District Ghaziabad, whereby court concerned dismissed the application, which was filed to release the passport. 3. First information report dated 19.11.2023 has been lodged by the informant under Sections 279, 304-A, 427, I.P.C. with regard to incident occurred in the night of 18.11.2023 in which informant’s brother Rakshit succumbed to injuries sustained therein. The offending vehicle was allegedly being driven by the applicant. During the course of investigation, the police modified the Sections and the investigation was carried out under Sections 304 and 420, I.P.C. 4. The applicant approached this Court seeking anticipatory bail by filing Anticipatory Bail Application No. 332 of 2024. The applicant was granted interim anticipatory bail vide order dated 29.1.2024. A condition was imposed for depositing the passport with the concerned SSP/SP. The interim anticipatory bail was granted to the applicant till the next date of listing or till the submission of police report, whichever is earlier. In compliance of order of this Court, the applicant deposited his passport bearing Passport No. V4713860 at Police Station Indirapuram, Ghaziabad on 5.2.2024. The factum of deposit of passport was duly recorded in the general diary with 2 GD Entry No. 21 dated 5.2.2024. Thereafter, the applicant came to know that charge sheet has been filed against him on 2.2.2024 under Sections 279, 427 and 304-A, I.P.C. Thereafter, cognizance was also taken upon the said charge sheet on 14.2.2024 in the aforesaid Sections. After submission of police report, the protection of anticipatory bail granted to the applicant has been ended and the applicant was advised to seek regular bail in the present case. The applicant appeared before the magistrate and sought regular bail, which was granted on 19.2.2024. After the grant of regular bail, anticipatory bail application pending before this court was rendered infructuous. Accordingly, anticipatory bail application was dismissed as infructuous on 18.3.2024. There is no terms and conditions to deposit the passport by the applicant by any court. 5. The applicant filed an application before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ghaziabad on 3.4.2024 for release of his passport, which was dismissed. The learned magistrate has declined to release the passport of the applicant only on the ground that the trial of the case is still pending against the applicant. 6. The Govt. of India has promulgated a notification no. GSRS70(E). The guidelines of the said notification are quoted herein below:- "G.S.R. 570(E). - In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (a) of section 22 of the Passports Act, 1967 (15 of 1967) and in supersession of the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of External Affairs no. G.S.R.298(E), dated the 14th April, 1976, the Central Government, being of the opinion that it is necessary in public interest to do so, hereby exempts citizens of India against whom proceedings in respect of an offence alleged to have been committed by them are pending before a criminal court in India and who produce orders from the court concerned permitting them to depart from India, from the operation of the provisions of Clause (f) of sub-section (2) of Section 6 of the said Act, subject to the following conditions, namely:- 3 (a) the passport to the issued to every such citizen shall be issued-- (i) for the period specified in order of the court referred to above, if the court specifies a period for which the passport has to be issued; or (ii) if no period either for the issue of the passport or for the travel abroad is specified in such order, the passport shall be issued for a period one year, (iii) if such order gives permission to travel abroad for a period less than one year, but does not specify the period validity of the passport, the passport shall be issued for one year; or (iv) if such order gives permission to travel abroad for a period exceeding one year, and does not specify the validity of the passport, then the passport shall be issued for the period of travel abroad specified in the order. (b) any passport issued in terms of a(ii) and a(iii) above can be further renewed for one year at a time, provided the applicant has not travelled abroad for the period sanctioned by the court; and provided further that, in the meantime, the order of the court is not cancelled or modified; (c) any passport issued in terms of a(i) above can be further renewed only on the basis of a fresh court order specifying a further period of validity of the passport or specifying a period for travel abroad; (d) the said citizen shall give an undertaking in writing to the passport issuing authority that he shall, if required by the court concerned, appear before it at any time during the continuance in force of the passport so issued. [No.VI/401/37/79] 4 L.K. PONAPPA, Jt. Secy. (CPV)" The provisions of Section 22 of the Act, 1967 read as under:- "22. Power to exempt.--Where the Central Government is of the opinion that it is necessary or expedient in the public interest so to do, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette and subject to such conditions, if any, as it may specify in the notification,-- (a) exempt any person or class of persons from the operation of all or any of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder; and (b) as often as may be, cancel any such notification and again subject, by a like notification, the person or class of persons to the operation of such provisions." 7. 8. Learned A.G.A. admitted the factual position. In view of the above facts and circumstances, the application is
Decision
disposed of and the court concerned is directed to release the passport of the applicant within 15 days after production of a certified copy of this order. The order dated 25.4.2024 is quashed. 9. With the aforesaid observations, the present 482 Cr.P.C. application stands disposed of finally. Order Date :- 3.12.2024 T. Sinha