Chennai: Holding that though the police have empowered to seize the passport, they have no power to retain or impound the same, the Madras high court has issued set of guidelines for the police and the subordinate courts concerned to deal with the issue relating to seizure and impounding of passports.
“It is my absolute view that though the police , empowered to seize the passport under section 102 Cr.P.C, have no power to retain or impound the same. The police are bound to send the same to the passport authority with requisition to impound the same for any of reasons mentioned in section 10 (3).
It is made clear that even the court cannot impound the passport despite enabling provision under section 104 Cr.P.C”, said Justice M.V. Muralidaran.
Allowing a petition from Dr C. Ramesh Babu, which sought return of his passport which was seized by the police and retained in a lower court in connection with a criminal case, the judge directed the Metropolitan Magistrate, CCB and CB-CID to return his passport by obtaining an appropriate undertaking of an affidavit of the petitioner and to reproduce the passport before the court immediately on his return to Chennai from London. On receipt of the passport, the Metropolitan Magistrate, is directed to issue appropriate direction to the passport authority concerned to keep custody of the petitioner’s passport till the disposal of the pending case, the judge added. Concurring with the submissions of R.C. Paul Kanagaraj, counsel for the petitioner, the judge said this court was able to see from the records that the petitioner was a senior consultant in orthopaedic and due to his profession he used to travel abroad. Further, his son was also pursuing his higher studies in London.
Therefore, this court considers that the petitioner's request was genuine. The guidelines issued by the judge are: 1) The police is entitled to seize the passport, they have no authority to keep the same in their custody. 2) The court has also no power to impound the passport as that of seizure by the police. 3) The passport authority is to initiate due process to impound the passport after affording opportunity duly to the holder of the passport and 4) after considering the necessity pertaining to the facts and circumstances of each case, the passport authority by giving detailed reasons may take any decision on either side by applying the mind.
