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TMI Blog1986 (7) TMI 115X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 2. The petitioner had a different version about it; he disputes the mahazar wherein the seizure of the gold biscuits is indicated; he disputes the statements signed by him, as, according to him, they were obtained under coercion and pressure. 3. It is not disputed that the petitioner has been arrested, that he has been produced before the court trying the economic offences, and that the proceedings there continue to be pending. 4. The authorities have with them the passport of the petitioner. It was seized by the 3rd respondent, Superintendent (I.N.D.), Air Customs, Trivandrum. The Magistrate passed orders impounding the passport. The petitioner filed petitions for the release of the same. That request was not conceded to by the respo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ummarised the effect of the derivation of the word from Latin and the evaluation of judicial decisions:- ".......a document must be something which teaches you and from which you can learn something, i.e. it must be something which accords information." The form in which it takes place is immaterial. It may be anything on which the information is written or inscribed - the paper, parchment, stone or metal. Inscription in recent times is invariably on paper. That was not the case during the earlier times. The common case then was about the inscription being on parchment. Still earlier, there had been inscriptions on stone, marble or clay, and quite often on metal. These are all long ago stories and matters of history. The emphasis is, th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... self a conveyor of information. 9. The application form for the issue of a passport contains many items of information, such as those referred to in section 6 of the Passports Act. A passport issued on the basis, and incorporating the details of such information, would therefore, be something which gives information of an evidentiary nature. 10. The passport itself contains prominent cautions :- Caution:- 1. This is a valuable document ............ ** ** ** 4. The passport is a sure means of establishing the holder's identity and should therefore, be carried personally." (emphasis supplied) 11. Before the present Passports Act, 1967, the Full Bench of this court discussed the content and effect of a passport in Fr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... estion: "It is many things, for it serves many purposes. It is among other things, an essential document of travel, for, most countries insist on a passport for entry and a good many for exit as well. It serves as a document of identity and is prima facie evidence of nationality." (emphasis supplied). Hackworth's (in his Digest of International Law, Vol. 111, page 435) observation : "The American passport is a document of identity and nationality issued to persons owing allegiance to the United States and intending to travel or sojourn in foreign countries....." was an addition to the citations already made. 13. It is unnecessary to refer to all the Indian decisions wherein the emphasis on passport being a "document" has been give ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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