Section 6(2) of the Passports Act, 1967, deals with refusal of passport or travel documents on various grounds:
“(2) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the passport authority shall refuse to issue a passport or travel document for visiting any foreign country under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of Section 5 on any one or more of the following grounds, and on no other ground, namely:—
(a) that the applicant is not a citizen of India;
(b) that the applicant may, or is likely to, engage outside India in activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India;
(c) that the departure of the applicant from India may, or is likely to, be detrimental to the security of India;
(d) that the presence of the applicant outside India may, or is likely to, prejudice the friendly relations of India with any foreign country;
(e) that the applicant has, at any time during the period of five years immediately preceding the date of his application, been convicted by a court in India for any offence involving moral turpitude and sentenced in respect thereof to imprisonment for not less than two years;
(f) that proceedings in respect of an offence alleged to have been committed by the applicant are pending before a criminal court in India;
(g) that a warrant or summons for the appearance, or a warrant for the arrest, of the applicant has been issued by a court under any law for the time being in force or that an order prohibiting the departure from India of the applicant has been made by any such court;
(h) that the applicant has been repatriated and has not reimbursed the expenditure incurred in connection with such repatriation;
(i) that in the opinion of the Central Government the issue of a passport or travel document to the applicant will not be in the public interest.”
The conditions mentioned in clauses (e), (f) and (g) deal with your situation. Once the case against you is disposed of, thereafter clauses (f) and (g) may not apply. Moreover, if you are convicted and sentenced only with fine, as you have mentioned, for the offence under Section 337 of the IPC, then the condition mentioned under clause (e) may also not apply, since minimum punishment mentioned therein is 2 years’ imprisonment and since offence under Section 337 is not an offence involving moral turpitude as far as I understand.
Therefore, as far as I understand, the sentence of only fine in an offence under Section 337 IPC may not come in the way of getting passport. Now, whether it would create a problem in getting Visa from any specific country, is an issue that you may need to enquire from the authorities of the concerned country or check from their laws or ask some travel expert.
Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.
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