Passports Act, 1974 — section 6

6. Penalties for certain offences relating to passport..—(1) A person shall be punishable with imprisonment which may-extend to three years, or with fine, or with both, if he

(a)makes or makes use of any statement which he knows or believes to be false in any document for obtaining passport; or

(b)attests or verifies a statement which he knows or has reason to believe to be false in any document used for obtaining a passport; or

(c)wilfully conceals any fact which under the circumstances he ought to disclose for the purpose of obtaining a passport for himself or another person; or

(d)forges, alters or tampers with any passport or any document which he uses for obtaining a passport; or

(e)uses a passport which has been forged, altered, or tampered with; or

(f)uses for obtaining a passport a document which has been forged, altered or tampered with; or

(g)is in wrongful possession of a passport not lawfully issued to him or allows his passport to be used “by another person; or

(h)traffics in passports or any documents required for obtaining a passport; or

(i)wilfully fails or neglects to return a passport issued to him, if he is required to do so or if an order cancelling, impounding or confiscating it is made 1[;or] 1 [(j) obtains more than one passport for himself either in the same or different names by concealing the fact of his already being in possession of a passport]. 1 Subs. and added by the Passports (Amdt.) Ordinance, 1978 (21 of 1978), s. 3. Provided that a person guilty of an offence punishable under clause (h) shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months and with fine which shall not be less than one thousand rupees.

(2)Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898), an offence punishable under clause (b) of sub-section (1) shall be a bailable offence.