The Madras High Court has directed the Passport Seva Kendra, Tambaram, to dispose of A.G. Perarivalan’s pending passport application within four weeks, observing that the authorities could not indefinitely delay its processing while awaiting a police verification report.
Justice P.T. Asha passed the order on October 28, 2026, after considering the police report and the circumstances surrounding Perarivalan’s release from imprisonment.
Background
Perarivalan applied for a fresh passport under the Normal Scheme on May 6, 2024. His application was registered on October 21, 2024, under File No. MA3067042901524, but was placed on hold pending police verification.
Despite completing the required formalities, the application remained pending. He subsequently submitted a representation on September 1, 2026, seeking its early disposal. With no action taken, he approached the High Court.
The Court also noted that Perarivalan had been convicted by the designated TADA Court and that the Supreme Court had commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment in 2014. On May 18, 2022, the Supreme Court ordered his release, considering the period of imprisonment already undergone.
The High Court examined the police status report, which indicated that the police had been regularly monitoring Perarivalan's activities and residence. Importantly, the police confirmed that no criminal case was pending against him during the period following his release.
The counter-affidavit stated:
"It is respectfully submitted that it was ascertained that no criminal case is presently pending against the petitioner in the records of Jolarpet Police Station from his release from the incarceration on 18.05.2022 to till date."
Justice Asha observed that the Passport Authority's reluctance to process the application solely because it was awaiting the police report was not correct.
The Court also referred to the Full Bench ruling in Jawahar Rajan v. The Regional Passport Officer, which held that the pendency of a criminal case does not automatically prevent passport issuance.
The High Court directed the Passport Seva Kendra, Tambaram, to treat the police counter-affidavit as the police verification report and decide Perarivalan's passport application accordingly.
The exercise must be completed within four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the order.
The writ petition was disposed of without costs.
Case Details:
Case Title: A.G. Perarivalan v. The Regional Passport Office & Others
Case Number: W.P. No. 40299 of 2026
Judge: Justice P.T. Asha
Decision Date: October 28, 2026
