SC Rules Pending Criminal Cases Don't Bar Passport Renewal

The Supreme Court of India recently made an important decision about passports.

They said that if someone has criminal cases pending against them, it doesn't mean they can't get or renew their passport.

The court explained that the right to travel is part of our basic rights under the Constitution.

In this case, a man named Mahesh Kumar Agarwal had some criminal cases going on, but the courts said he could still renew his passport.

The passport office initially refused, but the Supreme Court said that was wrong.

They explained that as long as the courts are keeping an eye on the person and can stop them from traveling if needed, there's no reason to refuse the passport.

The court also said that the passport office can still take back the passport if something changes or if the courts say so.

So, the passport office was told to give Mahesh his passport back within four weeks, with the same travel restrictions that the courts had already put in place.