Alok Sharma, J. - (1.) THE present petition has been filed with a grievance that even though the petitioner applied for a passport at the office of Passport Officer, Rajasthan, Jaipur in the year 2007, no passport has yet been issued to him. According to the petitioner, he fulfilled all the requirements for getting a passport and was allotted a passport file No. A.O. 657060/2007. According to the petitioner, vide judgment dt. 24.09.2002, in Sessions Case No.14/2001, he had been found guilty of offences under Secs. 302/149, 148, 452, 201 and 323 IPC by the Additional Sessions Judge (Fast Track), Sikar and sentenced for life imprisonment. However, the said order dt. 24.09.2002 was set aside by this High Court in DBCWP No.1314/2002 under its order dt. 03.02.2007 and the petitioner was acquitted of all the charges. The petitioner submitted that apart from the aforesaid adverse material which has since been rectified in appeal, there is nothing adverse against the petitioner and no criminal case is pending against him. It has been submitted on behalf of the petitioner that he was not even informed about the status of his application. Consequently a legal notice was sent at the petitioner's instance by his counsel to the Passport Officer on 18.09.2009 through registered post, but to no avail. Mr. V.S. Gurjar appearing for the Passport Officer submits that even though the petitioner had indeed applied for a passport in the course of Police inquiry it transpired that the petitioner was working with the State of Rajasthan in the Education Department while in his application for passport, the petitioner has shown his profession to be business. According to the counsel, this discrepancy with regard to the petitioner's employment is an issue which has to be resolved. It is submitted that in this regard a letter dt. 20.07.2009 was sent to the petitioner by the Office of the Passport Officer requiring the petitioner to clarify as to why in his application for passport he suppressed the fact of his being employed with the Government of Rajasthan in the Education Department and the petitioner has been required to furnish a NOC from his employer as required by the governing rules.
(2.) COUNSEL for the petitioner has denied that any false information was given by the petitioner in the application for passport. He submits that at the time of applying for the passport, the petitioner was not employed, but was doing his own business. I have heard the counsel for the petitioner as also the respondents and perused the writ petition and also the documents relied upon by the counsel for the respondents at the time of hearing of this petition.
(3.) A passport is a document for travel abroad and the petitioner has the fundamental right to travel to a destination of his choice. It is trite that passport cannot be denied to a citizen without just cause. Be that as it may, yet the applicant for the Passport has to satisfy the requirements of law.;