Passport - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition passport

Definition :

Passport, a licence for the safe passage of anyone from one place to another, or from one country to another. Passports are issued by the Foreign Office to British-born subjects or to those naturalised in the United Kingdom, British Dominions, Colonies or India, subject to the recommendation and identification of the applicant by a person holding certain positions, e.g., J.P., barrister, solicitor, physician. Application should be made to the Passport Office, 1, Queen Anne's Gate Buildings, Dartmouth Street, Westminster, London, or 36, Dale Street, Liverpool.

A combination to procure from the British Foreign Office a passport taken out in one name but to be used in another is an indictable misdemeanour, R. v. Brailsford and McCulloch, (1905) 2 KB 730. Forgery is a misdemeanour under the (English) Official Secrets Act, 1920 (10 & 11 Geo. 5, c. 86), and obtaining passports by false statements, under the (English) Criminal Justice Act, 1925 (15 & 16 Geo. 5, c. 86).

A 'passport' is a document which, by its nature and purpose, is a political document for the benefit of its holder. It recognises him as a citizen of the country granting it and is in the nature of a request to the other country for his free passage there, Nrisingha Murari Chakraborty v. State of West Bengal, AIR 1977 SC 1174: (1977) 3 SCR 521: (1977) 3 SCC 7.

A passport, whether in England or in the United States of America serves diverse purposes; it is a 'request for protection', it is a document of identity, it is a prima facie evidence of nationality, in modern times it not only controls exit from the State to which one belongs, but without it, with a few exceptions, it is not possible to enter another State. It has become a condition for free travel, Satwant Singh Sawhney v. D. Romarathanam, Asst. Passport Officer,New Delhi, AIR 1967 SC 1837 (1841). [Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, s. 2]