Courts Courts & regulators
Supreme Court rules right to travel abroad is part of personal liberty
This is a Supreme Court of India judgment dated January 25, 1978, in the case of Maneka Gandhi vs. Union of India, which addresses the constitutional validity of the government's power to impound a passport under the Passports Act, 1967.
It matters to citizens as it establishes that the right to travel abroad is part of 'personal liberty' under Article 21 and that executive actions restricting this right must comply with principles of natural justice and fundamental rights.
Who it concerns: The judgment concerns Maneka Gandhi (Petitioner), the Union of India (Respondent), and the general public regarding the interpretation of Articles 14, 19(1)(a), and 21 of the Constitution of India and the provisions of the Passports Act, 1967.
What the document says
- The Court held that the right to travel and go outside the country is included in the right to personal liberty under Article 21.
- The Court overruled the view that Articles 19 and 21 constitute 'watertight compartments,' stating the Constitution must be read as an integral whole with possible overlappings.
- The judgment addresses whether Section 10(3)(c) of the Passports Act, 1967, which allows impounding a passport in the 'interest of the general public,' is violative of Articles 14, 19(1)(a), and 21.
- The Court examined whether the government's refusal to furnish a statement of reasons for impounding the passport, citing public interest, was valid under Section 10(5) of the Act.
- The judgment discusses the applicability of principles of natural justice to administrative orders affecting the rights of citizens.
Also in the document
- The petitioner was issued a passport on June 1, 1976, and it was impounded by the Government of India on July 2, 1977, under Section 10(3)(c) of the Passports Act.
- The Government of India declined to provide a copy of the statement of reasons for the impoundment, stating it was not in the interest of the general public to do so.
- The case was heard by a seven-judge bench including Chief Justice M. Hameedullah Beg and Justice P.N. Bhagwati.
- The judgment cites the earlier decision in Satwant Singh Sawhney v. D. Ramarathnam, which established that the right to go abroad is part of personal liberty under Article 21.
How this was written
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