Indian Officers Facing Probe, Charge Sheet Will Not Get Passport Clearance

Officers of the Indian civil services will not get vigilance clearance from the government for a passport if they are under investigation, a notification from the Personnel Ministry said on March 28.

It was decided by the ministry that an ordinary passport will not be given to an officer under suspension, if there’s a charge sheet that has been issued against the officer in a disciplinary proceeding and the proceeding is pending, or a charge sheet has been filed in a court by the investigating agency in a criminal case and the case is pending.

A passport will also not be given if sanction for investigation or prosecution has been granted by the competent authority in a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act or any other criminal matter, if an FIR has been filed or a case has been registered by any government entity against the officer, after a preliminary fact finding inquiry, and if the officer is involved in a trap/raid case on charges of corruption and investigation is pending, the statement said.

However, authorities will be making the decision in case the officer has to take up foreign travel due to an extreme urgent situation like medical emergencies.

“There may be situations wherein wards and relatives of the civil servants residing abroad (for education and other purposes) could be having medical emergencies or family events. The officer himself/ herself may require to visit abroad for medical reasons. Therefore, as a policy, ordinarily, a passport will not be granted if a disciplinary proceeding is pending against the officer. However, the competent authority can take a view wherein a foreign travel is necessitated due to extreme urgent situation like medical emergencies etc. on case to case basis,” the notification said.

However, clearance will be given to the officer if an FIR filed by a private complaint is done unless a charge sheet has been filed by an investigating agency “provided that there are no directions to the contrary by a competent court of law.”

According to a May 2015 notification, a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) is to be given by the Controlling/ Administrative Authority of the employee working under them.