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Section12
The Passports Act, 1967

Offences and penalties

In force From 24 Jun 1967 Act 15 of 1967 As on 15 Oct 2026

Act 15 of 1967 Ministry External Affairs Enacted 24 Jun 1967 In force 24 Jun 1967 Cited by 2 provisions Instruments 8

Section 12 of the Passports Act, 1967 deals with offences and penalties. Whoever-- (a) contravenes the provisions of section 3; The Act came into force on 24 Jun 1967.

(1) Whoever--

(a) contravenes the provisions of section 3; or

(b) knowingly furnishes any false information or suppresses any material information with a view to obtaining a passport or travel document under this Act or without lawful authority alters or attempts to alter or causes to alter the entries made in a passport or travel document; or

(c) fails to produce for inspection his passport or travel document (whether issued under this Act or not) when called upon to do so by the prescribed authority; or

(d) knowingly uses a passport or travel document issued to another person; or

(e) knowingly allows another person to use a passport or travel document issued to him,

shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 1 [two years or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees] or with both.

2 [(1A) Whoever, not being a citizen of India,--

(a) makes an application for a passport or obtains a passport by suppressing information about his nationality, or

(b) holds a forged passport or any travel document,

shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to five years and with fine which shall not be less than ten thousand rupees but which may extend to fifty thousand rupees.]

(2) Whoever abets any offence punishable under 3 [sub-section (1) or sub-section (1A)] shall, if the act abetted is committed in consequence of the abetment, be punishable with the punishment provided in that sub-section for that offence.

(3) Whoever contravenes any condition of a passport or travel document or any provision of this Act or any rule made thereunder for which no punishment is provided elsewhere in this Act shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees or with both.

(4) Whoever, having been convicted of an offence under this Act, is again convicted of an offence under this Act shall be punishable with double the penalty provided for the latter offence.

Section 12, The Passports Act, 1967 (Act 15 of 1967).

Cross-references

Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.

This section refers to

  1. s. 3 Passport or travel document for departure from India

Referred to by 2

  1. s. 13 Power to arrest
  2. s. 14 Power of search and seizure

Related judgements & precedents

These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.

  1. Akmal Ahmad vs State of Delhi

    Supreme Court of India 24 Mar 1999 Binding (SC) with persuasive value on TADA interpretation jurisprudence

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    The Passports Act, 1967 applies only to departure from India or attempt to depart. Possession of a foreign passport while in India, even if obtained under false identity in the issuing country, does not violate the Passports Act. Further, where unauthorized possession of arms falls within a notified area under TADA, the statutory presumption that such possession is for terrorist or disruptive activities arises upon proof of possession alone. This presumption is rebuttable but operates as a matter of law. Where the accused does not rebut the presumption and no evidence supports rebuttal, conviction under Section 5 of TADA is sustainable even when Section 25 of the Arms Act would also apply, as TADA offence is more aggravated and specifically addresses terrorist-prone areas.

    On this section: Offence for contravention of Section 3; inapplicable here as appellant was not departing from India but had already entered

    Read the full order on eCourts India

  2. Balwinder Singh v. State

    High Court 09 Oct 2006 Persuasive (High Court) Reportable Crl.M.C. No. 3630/2006; Final Order 09.10.2006

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    Passports Act s.12(1)(b) criminalises altering entries made in a passport. Affixing a blank paper on a blank passport page does not alter any entries; other s.12(1) clauses inapplicable. Even taking FIR as true, no s.12 offence — proceedings quashed. Strict construction of criminal passport offences. DATE VERIFIED Final Order 2006-10-09 (order-1.pdf).

    On this section: s.12 — Offences and penalties; meaning of altering passport entries

    Read the full order on eCourts India

  3. Muhammed Mustafa vs State of Kerala

    High Court 30 Nov 2018 Persuasive (High Court)

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    An accused person can be permitted to renew their passport during the pendency of criminal proceedings, provided that: (1) the final report has not been filed in the case; (2) appropriate conditions are imposed to ensure the accused's availability for investigation and trial, including furnishing foreign address, contact numbers, and self-addressed stamped envelopes for service of process; and (3) the renewal period is limited (in this case, three years).

    On this section: Provision governing passport renewal and the circumstances under which renewal may be refused or restricted

    Read the full order on eCourts India

The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.

Made under this section, and citing it

8 instruments name this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.

All subordinate legislation

Questions about Section 12

What have the courts held on Section 12 of the Passports Act?

Akmal Ahmad vs State of Delhi (24 Mar 1999) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Offence for contravention of Section 3; inapplicable here as appellant was not departing from India but had already entered. Another 2 judgments on this section are set out below, 1 of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 1999 to 2018.

How do I find court cases under Section 12 of the Passports Act?

In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Passports Act 1967 12, section 12 Passports Act 1967, section 12 of the Passports Act. People searching for it also type passport act 12(1)(b) and passport act 12 1. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 3 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Akmal Ahmad vs State of Delhi (24 Mar 1999).

What should I read with Section 12 of the Passports Act, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 3 (Passport or travel document for departure from India), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 2 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. 8 instruments name it without being made under it, most recently GSR 1171 The Passports (Amendment) Rules, 2016 (23.12.2016) (2016), then GSR 733 regarding Corrigendum to GSR 603 (28.11.2007) (2007).

When did Section 12 of the Passports Act come into force?

Section 12 of the Passports Act, cited as Passports Act 1967 12, came into force on 24 Jun 1967, having been enacted on 24 Jun 1967. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.

Other sections of this Act

Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.