The petitioner was issued a
passport on 1st of June, 1976 under the Passport Act, 1967. On the
4th of July 1977, the petitioner received a letter dated 2nd July, 1977, from
the Regional Passport Officer of Delhi intimating to her that it was decided
by the Government of India to impound her passport under section 10(3)(c) of
the Act in public interest. The petitioner was required to surrender her
passport within 7 days from the receipt of that letter. The petitioner
immediately addressed a letter to the Regional Passport100 Officer requesting him to furnish
a copy of the statement of reasons for making the order as provided in
section120 10(5). A reply was sent by the
Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs on 6th July, 1977
stating inter alia that the Government decided in the interest of the
general public not to furnish her copy of the statement of reasons for
the making of the order. The petitioner thereupon filed the present Writ
Petition challenging action of the Government in impounding her passport and
declining to give reasons for doing so. The Act was enacted200 on 24th of April
1967 in view of the decision of this Court in S.S. Sawhney's
case. The position which obtained prior to the coming into force of the Act was
that there was no240 law regulating the issue of
passports for leaving the shores of India and going abroad.
The issue of passport was
entirely within the unguided discretion of the Executive. In S.S.
Sawhney's case, this Court held by a majority that the expression personal
liberty in Article 21 includes the right of locomotion and travel abroad and
under300 Article 21 no person can be
deprived of his right to go abroad except according to the procedure
established by law. This decision was accepted by the Parliament and the infirmity
pointed out by it, was set right by the enactment of
the Passport Act, 1967. The preamble of the Act shows that it was
enacted to provide for the360 issue of passport and travel
documents to regulate the departure from India of citizens of India and
other persons and for incidental matters. Section 3 provides that no
person shall depart from or attempt to depart from India400 unless he holds in this
behalf a valid passport or travel document. Section 5(1) provides for
making of an application for issue of a passport or travel document for
visiting foreign country.
Sub-section (2) of section 5 says that on receipt
of such application, the Passport Authority, after making such enquiry, if any,
as it may consider necessary, shall, by order in writing, issue or
refuse to issue the passport or travel document or make or refuse to make480 that passport or travel
document endorsement in respect of one or more of the foreign
countries specified in the application.500
Sub-section (3) requires the Passport Authority where it refuses to issue the
passport or travel document or to make any endorsement to record in writing a
brief statement of reasons for making such order.
Section 6(1) lays down the grounds on
which the Passport Authority shall refuse to make an endorsement for
visiting any foreign country and provides that on no other ground the
endorsement shall be refused. Section 6(2) specifies the grounds on which alone
and on no other grounds the Passport Authority shall refuse to issue the
Passport or travel document for visiting any foreign600 country and amongst various
grounds set out there, the last is that in the opinion of the
Central Government the issue of passport or travel document to the applicant will
not be in the public interest. Sub-section (1) of section 10 empowers the
Passport Authority to vary or cancel the endorsement on a passport or travel
document or to vary or cancel it on the conditions subject to which a passport
or travel document has been issued having regard to, inter alia, the
provisions of section 6(1) or any notification under section 19.
Sub-section (2) confers powers on700
the Passport Authority to vary or cancel the conditions of the passport or
travel document on the application of the720
holder of the passport or travel document and with the previous approval of the
Central Government. Sub-section (3) provides that the Passport Authority may
impound or cause to be impounded or revoke a passport or travel document
on the grounds set out in clause (a) to (h).
The order impounding the passport in the present
case, was made by the Central Government under clause (c) which reads that the
passport authority may impound the passport in the interest of800 the sovereignty and
integrity of India, the security of India, friendly relations of
India with the foreign country, or in the interests of the general public.
Sub-section (5) requires the Passport Authority impounding or revoking a
passport or travel document840 or varying or cancelling an
endorsement made upon it to record in writing a brief statement of the reasons
for making such order and furnish to the holder of the passport or travel
document on demand a copy of the same, unless, in any case, the Passport
Authority is of the opinion that it will not be in the interest900 of the sovereignty and integrity of
India, the security of India, friendly relations of India with any
foreign country, or in the interest of the general public to furnish
such a copy. The Central Government declined to furnish a copy of this
statement of reasons for impounding the passport of the petitioner on the
ground that it was not in960 the interest of the general
public to furnish such copy to the petitioner.
The petitioner contended that the right to go
abroad is part of personal liberty within the meaning of that expression as
used in Article 211000 and no one can be deprived of
this right except according to the procedure prescribed by law. There
is no procedure prescribed by the Passport Act, for impounding or revoking
a Passport. Even if some procedure can be traced in the said Act, it is
unreasonable and arbitrary and it does not provide for giving an
opportunity to the holder of the Passport to be heard against the making of the
order.1072
