Passport can be issued to convicts if conviction was more than 5 years ago: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court recently observed that a passport can be issued to a convicted person if the conviction order was passed more than five years prior to the date of the passport application [Abdul Azeez KP v Regional Passport Officer & anr]..Justice Gopinath P made the observation while holding that one Abdul Azeez KP was entitled to issuance of passport as his conviction did not fall within the five-year window prescribed under Section 6(2)(e) of the Passports Act, 1967 (Act)."In the facts of the present case, the conviction was on 31.12.2015. The application for passport was filed on 07.12.2024. In the light of the above, I am of the view that the petitioner is entitled to succeed, as he has not been convicted during the period of 5 years preceding the date of the application," the judge held..The petitioner, aged 70, approached the Court to direct the Regional Passport Office to process his passport application, which he had filed on December 7, 2024.The delay in issuing the same, stemmed from his conviction on December 31, 2015 under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and the Indian Penal Code.Though the petitioner had been sentenced to three years of imprisonment and fined ₹50,000, but his sentence was suspended subsequently by the High Court in January 2016..The question before the Court was whether the petitioner's passport application could be processed given the provisions of the Passport Act.Section 6(2)(e) of the Act, states that the passport authority must refuse to issue a passport to someone who has been convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude, with a sentence of at least two years, within five years before the date of their passport application."Thus, it has been held that Section 6(2)(e) of the 1967 Act would be applicable to a case where the applicant has been convicted within five years preceding the date of application. The conviction should be for an offence involving moral turpitude and the sentence awarded must be not less than two years. The conditions are cumulative and not in the alternative," the Court observed.The Court thus observed that the provision did not bar the issuance of a passport as the conviction in the petitioner's case occurred nearly nine years before the application.It also referred to a 1993 government notification (GSR 570 (E)), which outlined conditions for issuing or renewing passports for people facing criminal charges.However, it was observed that the notification applied only to individuals whose criminal cases were ongoing, as per Section 6(2)(f) of the Act and did not apply to those who have already been convicted which was the case when it came to the petitioner..Hence, the Court allowed the petition and directed the Regional Passport Officer to process the petitioner's application..The petitioner was represented by advocates Manas P Hameed, Ipsita Ojal, Rebin Vincent Gralan and Amaljith.Senior Panel Counsel TC Krishna appeared for the respondents..[Read Judgment]