States High court

Acquitted Person’s Passport Cannot Be Withheld: K’nataka HC

The Karnataka High Court has clarified that an acquitted accused cannot have their passport withheld based on the pending appeal period against the acquittal order.

A single-judge Justice M Nagaprasanna granted relief to Francis Xavier Crasto by allowing his petition and directing the concerned court to release his passport.

Crasto’s passport had been seized following an FIR related to a crime in which he was involved. However, the Sessions Court acquitted him on April 12, 2023, without issuing any order under Section 452 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) regarding the seized passport. Subsequently, Crasto filed an application under Section 452 of CrPC seeking the return of his passport.

The trial court rejected the application, citing the pending appeal period against the acquittal order as the reason. The High Court found this reasoning to be erroneous, stating that a seized passport cannot be withheld after the petitioner’s acquittal solely because an appeal may be filed against the order.

Consequently, the High Court allowed the petition and directed the concerned court to release the passport to the petitioner.

Nunnem Gangte

Recent Posts

Akshay Kumar Moves Bombay HC To Protect His Personality Rights

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar has approached the Bombay High Court seeking protection of his personality…

2 months ago

Bribery Case: CBI Arrests NHIDCL Executive Director

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday arrested the Executive Director and Regional Officer of…

2 months ago

Supreme Court Issues Slew Of Directions On Green Crackers Issue

The Supreme Court on Wednesday laid down detailed interim guidelines permitting the sale and use…

2 months ago

INX Media Case: Delhi HC Relaxes Travel Restrictions On Karti Chidambaram

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday relaxed the travel restrictions placed on Congress MP Karti…

2 months ago

Delhi HC Rules Lawyers’ Offices Not Commercial Establishments; Quashes NDMC Case Against Advocate

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday clarified that the professional office of a lawyer does…

2 months ago

Delhi HC Allows Actor Rajpal Yadav To Travel To Dubai For Diwali Event

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday permitted actor Rajpal Yadav to travel to Dubai to…

2 months ago