Passport With a Pending Criminal Case in Kerala: Renewal, Court Permission and Refusals

A pending criminal case is one of the most common reasons a passport application or renewal gets stuck in Kerala. Many people working in the Gulf learn of the problem only when their renewal is held up, or when the passport office asks for a court order. Others assume that any FIR means no passport at all.

The law is more nuanced. This guide explains when a criminal case really affects your passport, when court permission is needed and how to obtain it, what the passport office asks for, how long the new passport will be valid, and what to do if it is refused, seized or impounded.

Section 6(2)(f) of the Passports Act, 1967 allows the passport authority to refuse a passport if proceedings in respect of an offence alleged to have been committed by the applicant are pending before a criminal court in India. Section 6(2)(g) covers cases where a court has issued a warrant or summons for the applicant’s appearance, or has ordered that the applicant must not leave India.

These grounds are not an absolute bar. Under a central notification issued in 1993, known as GSR 570(E), a citizen with a pending case can be issued a passport if the criminal court permits it. In Mahesh Kumar Agarwal v. Union of India (22 December 2025), the Supreme Court held that Section 6(2)(f) does not operate as an absolute bar where the criminal court has consciously permitted renewal while keeping control over the accused’s travel.

The words that matter are proceedings pending before a criminal court. In Raju Kattakayam v. State of Kerala (18 June 2025), the High Court of Kerala held that an FIR and an investigation that is still going on do not amount to proceedings pending before a court. Proceedings become pending only after the final report (charge sheet) is filed and the court takes cognizance. Until then, the passport authority can process the application without a court order.

In practice, the police verification report may still mention the FIR, and the passport office may ask about it. Keep a copy of the FIR and documents showing the stage of the case, and answer every question in the application truthfully.

Once a charge sheet has been filed and the court has taken cognizance, apply to the court where the case is pending, whether a Magistrate’s court, a Sessions Court or a Special Court, for permission to obtain or renew the passport. The application should explain why the passport is needed (for example, employment abroad or family), give an assurance that you will appear whenever required, and ask the court to state the period for which the passport may be issued.

Courts often attach conditions, such as depositing the passport with the court when you are in India, or seeking permission before each journey. In Union of India v. Muhammed Rafsal (27 August 2025), a Division Bench of the High Court of Kerala upheld the reissue of a passport even though the Magistrate’s order did not expressly permit travel abroad, holding that an accused can obtain the passport first and seek the court’s permission to travel separately.

Where the case is pending in a court outside Kerala, the permission must come from that court.

GSR 570(E) links the validity of the passport to the court order:

• if the court specifies a period, the passport is issued for that period;
• if the order specifies no period, the passport is issued for one year, and it can be renewed one year at a time;
• if the court permits travel for more than a year but does not state the validity, the passport is issued for the period of travel;
• a passport issued for a period specified by the court needs a fresh court order for renewal.

The Passport Seva instructions say that normally a short-validity passport, valid for one year, is issued. In the Mahesh Kumar Agarwal case, however, the Supreme Court directed reissue for the normal period of ten years where the criminal courts had permitted renewal, and said the passport authority need not demand a schedule of future journeys. Asking the court to state the period clearly in its order avoids much of the difficulty later.

Along with the passport application, the applicant submits the court order and an undertaking in the format notified under GSR 570(E). The undertaking gives the case number, the court, the investigating agency and the hearing dates, and states that you will appear before the court whenever required while the passport is in force. The standard format is published on the Passport Seva website.

Answer the questions about criminal proceedings truthfully. Furnishing false information or suppressing material information to obtain a passport is an offence under Section 12 of the Act, and it is also a ground for impounding or revoking the passport later.

A passport may be held up after police verification reports a criminal case. Respond with documents: the current status of the case, any closure or refer report, an acquittal or discharge order, or the court’s permission. If the authority refuses the passport, it must record its reasons in writing, and under Section 5(3) of the Act you can ask for a copy.

An order refusing a passport, or impounding or revoking one, can be appealed under Section 11 of the Act to the appellate authority within the period set by the Passports Rules. Where the refusal ignores the law explained above, or the file is simply not decided, a writ petition before the High Court of Kerala under Article 226 is the usual remedy. The Raju Kattakayam and Muhammed Rafsal cases are examples of the relief the High Court has granted.

The police may seize a passport during an investigation, but seizure is not the same as impounding. In Suresh Nanda v. CBI (2008), the Supreme Court held that the power to impound a passport belongs only to the passport authority under Section 10(3) of the Passports Act, which must record its reasons and, on request, give the holder a copy. The High Court of Kerala has also held that keeping a seized passport indefinitely amounts to impounding it without authority, and that such passports should be forwarded to the passport authority.

If your passport has been seized, apply to the court for its release or for its transfer to the passport authority, and keep copies of every order.

The same rules apply when the renewal is sought through an Indian Embassy or Consulate. The Ministry of External Affairs circular on pending criminal cases is addressed to passport authorities in India and abroad. The court order is obtained from the court in Kerala where the case is pending, usually through an advocate acting on your instructions, and is then submitted to the mission with the undertaking.

If you also need to resolve the case itself, our guides on FIR quashing in the Kerala High Court and bail in Kerala explain the routes available.

Adv. K Rajesh Kannan, a High Court of Kerala advocate with over 24 years of practice, advises people in Kerala and abroad on passport difficulties caused by pending criminal cases. He reviews the stage of the case and the passport office’s objection, advises on the application to the criminal court and the undertaking, and takes up writ petitions before the High Court of Kerala against unlawful refusals, delays and impounding.

This guide is general information. What you need depends on the stage of your case and the passport office’s objection, so the papers should be reviewed first. More on this work is on the Constitutional Law and Criminal Law pages.

Questions people often ask

Do I need court permission if only an FIR has been registered?
Under Raju Kattakayam v. State of Kerala (2025), proceedings are not pending before a criminal court until the final report is filed and the court takes cognizance, so permission is not legally required at the FIR stage. The passport office may still ask about the FIR, so keep documents showing its status.

Which court gives permission?
The court where the case is pending: the Magistrate’s court, the Sessions Court or a Special Court.

Will I get a ten-year passport?
Validity follows the court order. If the order gives no period, the passport is normally issued for one year. The Supreme Court has directed ten-year reissue where criminal courts had permitted renewal, so ask the court to state the period.

Can I travel abroad once I get the passport?
Only within the conditions set by the court. Many orders require the court’s permission before each journey.

What is the GSR 570(E) undertaking?
A signed statement giving the details of the pending case and promising to appear before the court whenever required while the passport is in force. The format is published on the Passport Seva website.

This guide gives general information about the law in Kerala. It is not legal advice on any particular case.