Passport refusal needs objective, record-based material; vague suspicion cannot justify denial under restrictive statutory grounds.

A passport refusal under Section 6(2)(b) of the Passports Act, 1967 cannot rest on vague allegations, an uncorroborated police report, or mere suspicion. Because the right to travel abroad is protected by Articles 14 and 21, the statutory ground must be supported by objective, record-based material showing that the applicants may, or are likely to, engage abroad in activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India. The denial was therefore unjustified, and the applications had to be reconsidered on lawful material before any refusal could be sustained.

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Issues: Whether refusal to issue passports was justified on the basis of an uncorroborated police report and whether the authorities could invoke Section 6(2)(b) of the Passports Act, 1967 without record-based material showing that the applicants may, or are likely to, engage abroad in activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India.

Analysis: The petitioners had applied for passports, but the authorities declined to process the requests on the basis of vague allegations relating to a third person and without producing supporting records despite a specific direction of the Court. The right to travel abroad is protected under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India, and refusal of a passport must therefore rest on statutory grounds supported by reasonable and cogent material. Section 6(2)(b) of the Passports Act, 1967 is a restrictive provision and must receive strict construction because its effect is to curtail a constitutional liberty. Mere suspicion, conjecture, or an unsupported apprehension that the applicants may assist another person cannot satisfy the statutory requirement; the material must objectively connect the applicants with the disqualifying ground.

Conclusion: The refusal was unjustified. The petitioners were entitled to consideration of their applications on lawful, record-based material, and the denial of passports could not stand.

Final Conclusion: The petitions were allowed, and the respondents were directed to reconsider the applications and issue passports in accordance with law unless competent material existed to attract Section 6(2)(b) of the Passports Act, 1967.

Ratio Decidendi: A passport cannot be refused under Section 6(2)(b) of the Passports Act, 1967 on the basis of vague or unsupported apprehensions; the decision must be founded on objective, record-based material showing that the statutory ground is actually attracted.

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