A recent circular issued by the police in Kashmir has asked field intelligence units to look into the past record of involvement in stone-pelting incidents and other street protests whenever someone applies for a passport or a government job.
Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2021
Under Section 6(2) of the Indian Passports Act, 1967, the passport authority can refuse to issue a passport for specific reasons such as
- the applicant being not a citizen of India;
- that the applicant may engage, outside India, in activities prejudicial to the country’s sovereignty and integrity, or
- that the applicant’s departure may be detrimental to the country’s security; or
- that the person’s presence abroad may prejudice India’s friendly relations with a foreign country.
Refusal of passport may also be related to a person’s antecedents. Conviction for any offence that involves “moral turpitude” with a sentence of not less than two years in the five preceding years would mean denial of passport.
In January 2016, the Delhi High Court upheld the validity of Section 6(2)(f) of the Act, which allows the Centre to refuse a passport to anyone against whom criminal proceedings are pending.
