KHUSHBOO SUNDAR Vs. REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICER (CHENNAI) MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner calls in question the order dated 28.12.2016 of the respondent, in and by which, the application submitted by the petitioner for re-issue of her passport was returned by the respondent.

(2.) The petitioner, who is a cine actress and also anchoring many private television programmes, has come forward with this writ petition challenging order of return passed by the respondent without re-issuing her passport with fresh pages. According to the petiitoner, she was originally issued passport by the office of the respondent on 09.03.2012 bearing passport Number Z 2383432 and it is valid from 09.03.2012 to 08.03.2022. According to the petitioner, she is a frequent flyer to many foreign countries in connection with her profession and also with her family members for holidays. According to the petitioner, the pages in the passport issued to her has been exhausted and therefore, as per the new norms, she sought for re-issuance of passport with fresh pages in order to travel abroad.

(3.) It is contended by the petitioner that she joined a prominent political party in the year 2009 and she was a star campaigner in the run up to the assembly election. In the course of such campaign, during May 2011, criminal cases were registered against her in Crime No. 144 of 2011 on the file of Andipatti Police Station which culminated in to a criminal proceedings in C.C. No. 146 of 2011 and another case in C.C. No. 146 of 2011 both on the file of the learned District Munsif cum Judicial Magistrate, Andipatti. Upon registration of the case, the petitioner has filed Crl.O.P. (MD) No. 3770 of 2012 before the Madurai Bench of this Court and obtained an interim stay of the criminal proceedings and also an order to dispense with her personal appearance. Thereafter, yet another criminal case came to be registered against the petitioner in Crime No. 107 of 2011 in P.C. Patti Police Station in which she has obtained anticipatory bail before the Madurai Bench of this Court in Crl.OP (MD) No. 12576 of 2011 on 21.09.2011. Thereafter, the petitioner came to know that another case in Crime No. 185 of 2011 was also registered against her in Natham Police Station against which she filed Crl.O.P. No. 1807 of 2012 seeking to quash the proceedings in Crime No. 185 of 2011 in which also she obtained an interim stay.