Criminal Misc. No. M-3888 of 2011 (O&M) 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Criminal Misc. No. M-3888 of 2011 (O&M) Date of Decision : 23.11.2011. Gurdev Singh Batalvi ...... Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and another ...... Respondents CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NAWAB SINGH Present: Ms. Priyanka Sharma, Advocate, for the petitioner. Mr. Sudhir Nehra, Addl. A.G. Punjab, for the respondents – State. NAWAB SINGH J.(ORAL) This petition has been filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking quashing of First Information Report No.77 dated August 25th, 2010 under Section 12 of the Passport Act, 1967 registered in Police Station Jamalpur, District Ludhiana on the statement of Sukhwinder Singh Mann, Senior Superintendent of Police, Khanna alleging that petitioner suppressed the material information from the Passport Authority while seeking passport bearing No. H-6079192 from Regional Passport Office, Chandigarh that no criminal proceedings were pending against him whereas a criminal case bearing First Information Report No.238 of 1985, Police Station Patel Nagar, Delhi was pending against him. 2. Learned counsel for the petitioner has contended that petitioner did not suppress the material information on the ground that petitioner earlier applied for a passport (Annexure P-4). In the said application form in column No.16 sub clause (ii), it has been specifically mentioned that criminal proceedings were pending against him by ticking the column `yes’. On the basis of said application form, passport bearing No. E-0028825 (Annexure P5) Criminal Misc. No. M-3888 of 2011 (O&M) 2 was issued to him on October 22nd, 2001, which was to expire on October 21st, 2011. Petitioner again filed application form (Annexure P2) before the Regional Passport Office, Chandigarh for issuing him additional booklet because the pages of the passport (Annexure P-5) were exhausted. On the said application form, petitioner was again issued another passport bearing No. H-6079192 on July 23rd, 2009 to be expired on July 22nd, 2019. The number of the old passport, that is, E-0028825 (Annexure P-5) has also been found mentioned in Annexure P3. So, with this factual background question of suppressing the material information by the petitioner did not arise. 3 Learned State counsel has fairly stated that the only evidence collected by the prosecution against the petitioner was that he did not mention in form (Annexure P-2) seeking additional booklet that a criminal case was pending against him rather in the earlier application form (Annexure P-4), it was so stated. 4. Indisputably, passport bearing No. H-6079192 (Annexure P3) was issued to the petitioner as an additional booklet. It is not a new passport. It was issued because pages in the earlier passport (Annexure P-5) were exhausted. The information already supplied by the petitioner at the time of issuance of the passport bearing No. E-0028825 (Annexure P5) were with the Passport Authorities. So the present passport was issued in continuance of the earlier passport issued to the petitioner. 5. It is pertinent to mention here that prior thereto also, a passport bearing No. W-535518 was issued to the petitioner on September 14th, 1984, as finds mention in the copy of the passport (Annexure P-5). 6. In view of above, this Court is of the considered opinion that petitioner did not suppress any material information while applying for the additional booklet (Annexure P-3) in lieu of the earlier passport issued to him (Annexure P-5). Thus continuance of FIR and the proceedings against him are nothing but an abuse of the process Criminal Misc. No. M-3888 of 2011 (O&M) 3 of law. Consequently, FIR No. 77 dated August 25th, 2010 under Section 12 of the Passport Act, 1967, Police Station Jamalpur, District Ludhiana and the proceedings arising therefrom are quashed. 23.11.2011 (NAWAB SINGH) neetu JUDGE