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Chennupati Kranthi Kumar vs. The State of Andhra Pradesh & Ors.

Criminal Appeal · 2023 INSC 645Decided 25 Jul 2023
Criminal Appeal Nos. 1601-1602 of 2023
Abhay S. Oka · Rajesh Bindal · Sanjay Karol on the bench

Background

The appellant, working in the USA, was accused (along with family members) of dowry harassment and related offences by his wife. During investigation, police took custody of his passport under Section 91 CrPC and forwarded it to the Regional Passport Office, which then refused to release it without court permission. The appellant sought its return so he could travel back for his job; the Andhra Pradesh High Court agreed to release his passport but only on condition that he deposit Rs. 10 lakh as a fixed deposit and also hand over the original passports of his wife and minor son.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court, relying on its earlier ruling in Suresh Nanda v. CBI, held that police have no power to impound a passport. They may only seize it and must forward it to the Passport Authority, which alone can decide on impounding under the Passports Act. Since the appellant's passport was neither validly seized nor impounded, its continued retention was illegal, and the condition attached to its release requiring him to surrender his wife's and son's passports (which he did not possess, and which were separately lost/reissuable through ordinary process) was unsupported by law. The Court set aside that specific condition while leaving intact the Rs. 10 lakh deposit condition (which the appellant had not challenged), and directed that the wife could apply for a fresh or duplicate passport through the normal process, with the appellant cooperating by providing any documents needed.

Lesson Learnt

A passport cannot be indefinitely withheld by police or passport authorities without a valid impounding order under the Passports Act, and courts should not impose conditions unrelated to the actual lawful custody dispute as a precondition for returning a document unlawfully retained.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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