1. The petitioners impugn separate orders denying passports to the respective petitioners for the reason that the petitioners had applied for political asylum, while they were overseas. Since the controversy involved in these petitions is similar, the same were taken up together.
2. The relevant facts obtaining in various petitions are briefly stated as under:
2.1 The petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 4574/2014 returned to India on an Emergency Certificate dated 19.04.2012 issued by the Embassy of India, Vienna. On his return, the petitioner applied for a passport, on 28.05.2012, at Passport Office, Chandigarh. By an order dated 03.07.2012, the Regional Passport Officer at Chandigarh rejected the said application and placed the name of the petitioner under the Prior Approval Category (hereafter 'PAC') for a period of five years from the date of his return on the ground that the petitioner had made a request to the Government of Austria for political asylum. The said request was, subsequently, rejected by the Austrian Government. By an order dated 05.08.2013, the appeal filed by the petitioner under Section 11 of the Passports Act, 1967 (hereafter also referred to as the 'Act') impugning the order dated 03.07.2012, was also dismissed by the Chief Passport Officer. The said order dated 05.08.2013 has been impugned by the petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 4574/2014.
2.2 The petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 5480/2014 returned to India on an Emergency Certificate dated 03.11.2011 issued by the Consulate General of India, Frankfurt. On his return, the petitioner applied for a passport, on 23.04.2012, at Passport Office, Jalandhar. By an order dated 21.08.2013, the Passport Officer at Jalandhar rejected the said application and placed the name of the petitioner under the PAC for a period of five years from the date of his return on the ground that the petitioner had made a request to the Government of Germany for a political asylum. The said request was, subsequently, rejected by the German Government. By an order dated 25.04.2014, the appeal filed by the petitioner under Section 11 of the Act impugning the order dated 21.08.2013, was also dismissed by the Chief Passport Officer. The said order dated 25.04.2014 has been impugned by the petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 5480/2014. It is relevant to note that wife of the petitioner is residing in Germany.
2.3 The petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 7109/2014 returned to India on an Emergency Certificate dated 18.04.2011 issued by the Embassy of India, Vienna. On his return, the petitioner applied for a passport, on 10.05.2011, at Passport Office, Jalandhar. By an order dated 30.11.2012, the Passport Officer at Jalandhar rejected the said application and placed the name of the petitioner under the PAC for a period of five years from the date of his return on the ground that the petitioner had made a request to the Government of Austria for a political asylum. The said request was, subsequently, rejected by the Austrian Government. By an order dated 24.07.2014, the appeal filed by the petitioner under Section 11 of the Act impugning the order dated 30.11.2012, was also dismissed by the Chief Passport Officer. The said order dated 24.07.2014 has been impugned by the petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 7109/2014. It is relevant to note that the petitioner has stated in the petition that his wife and son are residing in Austria.
3. The orders dated 05.08.2013, 25.04.2014 and 24.07.2014 passed by the Chief Passport Officer rejecting the respective appeals of the petitioners are hereinafter collective........