IMTIZAJ-UL-HUSSAIN SHAH Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has filed the instant writ petition seeking a direction upon respondent No.2 to consider his passport application ARN No.21-0004757638 dtd. 18/6/2021. It has been submitted in the writ petition that the petitioner had applied for issuance of passport in terms of aforesaid application but the passport is not being issued in his favour. According to the petitioner he has been convicted in case FIR No.24 of 2013 by the Court of learned Special Judge, Anti-Corruption, Srinagar in terms of judgment dtd. 25/4/2018 and has been sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment of one year, out of which, he has served half of the sentence. It has been submitted that the petitioner has filed criminal appeal bearing CRA No.12/2018 which is still pending before this Court.

(2.) According to the petitioner he has been selected for undergoing MBBS Course under South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation quota but in the absence of passport he is unable to join the said course. The petitioner has pleaded that in similar circumstances, the respondent passport authority has issued passport in favour of one Sadam Farooq.

(3.) Reply on behalf of the respondent-passport authority has been filed. In the reply, while admitting that the petitioner has applied for issuance of passport, it has been submitted that the petitioner has been convicted of offence under Sec. 5 (1) (d) read with Sec. 6 (2) of Prevention of Corruption Act read with 120 RPC and 420 RPC and he has been sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for one year in both the offences. It has been submitted that a show cause notice was issued on 1/11/2021 to the petitioner to furnish No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Court where the appeal is pending, but he has not furnished the requisite NOC, as a result of which the passport authority could not issue the passport in his favour.