Passport granting officer refused the certified copy of the order and demanding NOC from the court. I was issued a short validity passport valid for five years by a court order in 2021 due to an ongoing criminal case. However, my court case was disposed of and closed in October 2023. I possess a copy of the disposal order for my court case, and I have no pending cases against me in any court of law. I wish to renew my short validity passport to a full ten-year passport. When I went to apply for my passport renewal, the passport granting officer asked me to bring a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the court, and my application was put on hold.
I informed the granting officer that my case has been disposed of and no case is pending against me in any court. I even presented a certified copy of the disposal order, but the officer refused to accept my application. Subsequently, I went to the session court to obtain the NOC. However, the judge refused to provide the NOC, stating that the court does not issue NOCs for disposed cases. I seek your advice on whether I should approach the High Court regarding this matter.
Asked from: Uttar Pradesh
The criminal court in India does not issue a no objection certificate for the granting or renewal of a passport. Permission from the court for passport renewal is typically sought when a criminal case is pending. In such situations, the court may grant permission if it deems that the personal attendance of the accused is not necessary during the trial.
However, once the criminal case has been disposed of, the matter is considered closed unless it is open for consideration in appeal. Since no appeal has been filed by the prosecution against the court’s order, there is no pending criminal case against you. Therefore, the demand for a no objection certificate from the court is illegal and holds no ground.
You should file a writ petition in the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. Traveling abroad is considered a fundamental right (Menaka Gandhi vs Union of India AIR 1978 SC 597), and any arbitrary action to prevent a citizen from traveling abroad constitutes a violation of Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution of India.
The demand for a no objection certificate is illegal; hence, the High Court may direct the concerned authority to renew your passport within the stipulated period of time. A declaration from the passport holder stating that no criminal case is pending, along with verification from the concerned police station, should be sufficient to accept that declaration. The passport authority has no right to refuse a certified copy of the court order, and such a refusal also amounts to contempt of court.For more legal help please visit Kanoon India.
