Karnataka govt seeks cancellation of MP Prajwal Revanna’s diplomatic passport

  • May 24, 2024
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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Karnataka govt seeks cancellation of MP Prajwal Revanna’s diplomatic passport

Sub: Polity

Sec: legislation in news

Tags: diplomatic passport

Context:

  • Karnataka home minister urges Centre to cancel Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna’s diplomatic passport in a high-profile scandal.

More on news:

  • The Special Investigation Team (SIT) wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), seeking the cancellation of his diplomatic passport.
  • This happened after the Special Court for Elected Representatives, Bengaluru, issued an arrest warrant against Prajwal in a rape case registered by a former domestic help in their house on April 28.

What is a diplomatic passport? Who can get one?

  • Unlike normal passports, which have dark blue covers and are valid for 10 years (for adults), diplomatic passports have maroon covers, and are valid for five years or less.
  • Holders of such passports are entitled to certain privileges and immunities as per the international law.
  • Various immunities available to diplomatic passport holders are immunity from arrest, detention, and certain legal proceedings in the host country.
  • The MEA’s Consular, Passport & Visa Division issues diplomatic passports (‘Type D’ passports) to people falling in  broadly five categories:
    • those with diplomatic status;
    • government-appointed individuals traveling abroad for official business;
    • officers working under the branches A and B of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), normally at the rank of Joint Secretary and above; and
    • relatives and immediate family of officers employed in IFS and MEA.
    • Diplomatic passports are also issued to select individuals who are authorized to undertake official travel on behalf of the government.
    • This includes union ministers and MPs who often travel abroad representing the government. The validity of these passports is concurrent with the term of the MP.

What is Passport Act:

  • The Passports Act is an act of the Parliament of India , for the issue of passports and travel documents, to regulate the departure from India of citizens of India and for other persons and for matters incidental or ancillary thereto.
  • The Act applies to the whole of India extending to citizens of India living outside the country.
  • The Act replaced the Indian Passport Ordinance 1967 and was enacted by Act 15 of 1967 with retrospective effect from 5 May 1967.
  • The act describes the procedures in getting an Indian passport, which replaced the British Indian passport and The Passport Act of 1920.

Various types of passports in the country:

Physical/offline passports

Blue personal passport or type P Passport

  • The Type P passport is a personal passport issued to Indian citizens for personal travel purposes. It is the most common passport type in India.
  • Its dark blue cover characterizes it, and is available to individuals who have completed their education beyond the 10th grade.
  • This passport lets holders travel internationally for leisure, business, education, or other personal reasons.

White service passport

  • The white service passport is designated for individuals employed in various government services or public sector organizations, excluding diplomatic or consular officials.
  • This passport, distinguished by its white cover, is issued to government officials and employees traveling abroad for official duties, conferences, or training programs.
  • IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officers, along with other government officials and employees traveling abroad for official duties, are typically issued the white service passport.

Orange emigration passport

  • The orange emigration passport is specifically designed for Indian citizens who are emigrating to other countries for employment opportunities.
  • It is issued to individuals who have not completed their formal education and seek overseas employment.

Maroon diplomat passport

  • India’s diplomatic passport is exclusively issued to diplomats, consular officers, and other high-ranking government officials representing India abroad.
  • It is characterized by its maroon cover and grants holders diplomatic immunity and privileges per international conventions.

Yellow passports:

  • Tibetans seeking refugee status in India are commonly issued the yellow Indian passport as their identity card.
  • For individuals without a formal education, particularly those who have only completed up to the 10th grade, the appropriate passport to apply for would be the orange passport, also known as the Emigration Check Required (ECR) passport.

Online or e-passports

  • India has introduced e-passports as part of its efforts to enhance the security of its travel documents.
  • E-Passports, also known as biometric passports, contain an electronic chip. This chip holds the biometric information of the passport holder, which can include fingerprint and iris data alongside the traditional personal details found in a passport.
  • The introduction of e-passports aims to streamline the immigration process through automated identity verification, reduce passport forgery, and enhance overall security.
Karnataka govt seeks cancellation of MP Prajwal Revanna’s diplomatic passport Polity