Passport Writ in Bangladesh: Refusal, Impounding, Travel Bans and Article 36 in 2026

Passport writ Bangladesh: the law on refusal, impounding and the right to travel

A passport writ Bangladesh citizens file in the High Court Division usually has one aim: to get a passport issued, renewed or returned, or to remove an unlawful barrier to leaving the country. The legal foundation is strong. Article 36 of the Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to leave and re-enter Bangladesh, subject only to reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the public interest, and the Appellate Division has held that the right to travel abroad is a fundamental right. Yet refusals, delays, impounding orders and airport stops remain common, and the remedy depends on precise use of the Bangladesh Passport Order 1973.

This guide explains when the passport authority may refuse, impound or revoke a passport, how the statutory appeal interacts with writ jurisdiction, the leading cases from Ershad to the 2026 airport and expatriate cases, and the practical steps that make a petition succeed.

Summary: The Bangladesh Passport Order 1973 lets the passport authority refuse a passport on listed grounds and impound or revoke one in defined cases, with reasons recorded. Article 36 protects the right to leave and re-enter the country. Where the authority acts outside those grounds, gives no reasons, denies a hearing or simply sits on an application, the High Court Division can direct issue or return of the passport under Article 102.

Key point: In Hussain Muhammad Ershad v Bangladesh the Appellate Division held that the right to travel abroad is a fundamental right under Article 36, that an impounding order without recorded reasons was unlawful, and that the statutory appeal under the Passport Order did not bar a writ.

At a glance

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Table of Contents

When a passport writ Bangladesh petition is needed

A passport writ Bangladesh lawyers file most often falls into one of five categories: refusal of a new passport; refusal or indefinite delay of a renewal; impounding or revocation of an existing passport; seizure of a passport by police or another agency; and obstruction at the airport of a citizen holding valid documents. Each involves a public authority exercising statutory power, which is why Article 102 applies.

Article 102(1) allows any person aggrieved to seek directions for the enforcement of fundamental rights, including Article 36. Article 102(2)(a) allows the High Court Division, where no equally efficacious remedy exists, to direct a public authority to do what the law requires or declare an act without lawful authority.[1] In passport cases both limbs are usually pleaded together. For the general procedure, standing and timelines, see our guide to the writ petition in Bangladesh.

The constitutional right to travel

Article 36 provides that, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the public interest, every citizen shall have the right to move freely throughout Bangladesh, to reside and settle anywhere in it, and to leave and re-enter Bangladesh.[1] Three conditions follow from the text: a restriction must be imposed by law, it must be reasonable, and it must serve the public interest.[4]

A passport is the practical key to that right. Article 3 of the Passport Order provides that no person shall depart or attempt to depart from Bangladesh unless he holds a valid passport or travel document.[2] Refusing or impounding a passport therefore restricts Article 36 directly, and must meet the constitutional test as well as the statutory one. Our guide to fundamental rights in Bangladesh sets out how the courts approach restrictions more generally.

The Bangladesh Passport Order 1973

The Passport Order (President's Order No 9 of 1973) is the core statute, supported by the Bangladesh Passport Rules 1974, the Passport (Offences) Act 1952 and the Passport Act 1920.[2]

Grounds for refusal

Article 6 of the Order allows refusal in specified cases. These include failure to appear in a pending criminal case, conviction or suspicion of serious offences such as human, drug or arms trafficking or currency smuggling, and reason to believe travel would harm the sovereignty, integrity or security of Bangladesh or be contrary to the public interest.[5] Marital status, gender, the absence of a guardian or the views of a relative are not grounds.

Grounds for impounding or revocation

Article 7(2) allows the passport authority to impound or revoke a passport if the holder is in wrongful possession of it; if it was obtained by suppression of material facts; if the authority deems it necessary in the interest of sovereignty, integrity or security, or in the public interest; if the holder has been convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude and sentenced to at least two years; if a Bangladeshi court has prohibited the holder's departure and required impounding; if the passport's conditions have been contravened; or if the holder has failed to deliver it up when lawfully required.[2]

Reasons and appeal

Article 7(4) requires the reasons for impounding to be recorded and furnished, and Article 10 provides an appeal.[3] In practice, the absence of a written, reasoned order is the single most common defect in passport cases.

Offences and seizure

Article 11 makes it an offence to depart without a passport, furnish false information to obtain one, or use another person's passport. Article 12 lets empowered customs officers, police officers not below sub-inspector and anti-corruption officers search, seize a passport and arrest without warrant where a reasonable suspicion of an Article 11 offence exists.[2] A seizure outside that framework, for example to pressure a person in a civil dispute, has no statutory basis.

The leading case: Ershad v Bangladesh

Every passport writ Bangladesh lawyers draft still begins with Hussain Muhammad Ershad v Bangladesh, Civil Appeal No 123 of 2000, decided by the Appellate Division on 16 August 2000 and reported at IV ADC (2007) 389.[3]

The appellant, a former President and sitting member of Parliament, was stopped at the Dhaka airport on 5 June 2000 on his way to London for a medical check-up, and his passport was seized under a Home Ministry order of 1 June 2000 that had never been served on him. An earlier impounding order of November 1999 had already been struck down by the High Court Division, and the passport returned only after a contempt petition.[3]

What the Appellate Division held

• The right to travel abroad is a fundamental right under Article 36, though not absolute and subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by law.
• The impounding order violated Article 36 and natural justice and was tainted by mala fides.
• The order was not lawfully made because reasons were not recorded and furnished as Article 7(4) of the Passport Order requires.
• The availability of an appeal under Article 10 of the Passport Order did not bar a writ under Article 102.

The court allowed the appeal and directed immediate return of the passport.[3] The case remains the reference point on reasons, hearing and the alternative-remedy argument.

Travel bans and airport stops

Many passport disputes are really about departure. A person holds a valid passport but is stopped at immigration on the strength of an agency request, an informal list or an officer's own view.

Agency travel bans

In Md Ataur Rahman v Government of Bangladesh, Writ Petition No 824 of 2021, the High Court Division held that no authority may impose a travel ban on an accused without a law authorising it, declared an Anti-Corruption Commission embargo illegal and issued interim guidelines: investigating agencies may apply to a court for an embargo of up to 60 days, with extensions only after hearing both sides. On the leave petitions, the Appellate Division observed that an accused trying to flee may be restricted without a court order, but the court must confirm the restriction within three days.[4]

Earlier, in State v M M Rahmatullah, 2 BLC (AD) 157, the Appellate Division held that a restriction based only on an apprehension that a person will not return is illegal without reasonable grounds and cogent reasons.[4] For the full picture on court, ACC and tax-related bans, see our guide to the travel ban in Bangladesh.

Gender-based obstruction: the 2026 rule

On 29 September 2026 a High Court Division bench issued a rule on why the conduct of immigration officials who stopped three adult women travelling to a mediation conference in Nepal on 8 August should not be declared illegal, and why guidelines should not be framed to stop adult women being blocked because they are unmarried or travelling without a guardian. The court directed the police to dispose of the women's complaints within seven days and directed immigration not to obstruct their future travel without a lawful basis.[6] The Passport Order does not make marital status a ground for refusal or restriction.[5]

Delay, renewals and expatriate applicants

A passport writ Bangladesh expatriates bring is more often about delay than refusal. A renewal that sits unprocessed for months is in effect a refusal without reasons, and the remedy is mandamus directing the authority to decide within a fixed time.

On 2 August 2026, in a public interest writ by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, the High Court Division directed the authorities to process all pending new and renewal passport applications of expatriate Bangladeshis within 60 days, directed the Foreign Ministry to instruct missions within 21 days to forward applications promptly, and issued a rule on why the delay should not be declared illegal.[7] The order gives individual applicants a clear reference point: an application pending well beyond that period without a decision invites a writ.

Police verification

Police verification was a frequent source of delay and refusal. In February 2025 the government decided that police verification would no longer be mandatory for issuing or renewing passports, with the national identity card and birth registration as the primary basis.[9] At the time of the announcement, the Department of Immigration and Passports had not yet received a formal circular.[10] Applicants should check the current practice, and where a passport is held up on an adverse police or agency report, ask for the report and the reasons in writing.

NID mismatches

Because passports now rest on NID data, a mismatch in name, date of birth or parents' names can stall an application. The fix usually lies with the Election Commission's NID records rather than the passport office; our sibling guide on the NID correction writ explains that route.

Revocation and cancellation

Revocation is the most serious step. In January 2025 the government announced that the Department of Immigration and Passports had cancelled 97 passports, 75 linked to alleged involvement in the July 2024 killings and 22 to alleged enforced disappearances.[8] The announcement did not cite a specific statutory provision.

Whatever the context, revocation must rest on an Article 7(2) ground and comply with Article 7(4). A passport writ Bangladesh courts entertain against revocation will focus on whether a written order exists, what ground it invokes, whether reasons were furnished and whether the holder had any opportunity to respond. The individual's position in any criminal proceedings is a separate matter for the criminal courts.

Standing, urgency and timing

The person whose passport is refused, delayed or impounded is the natural petitioner. A relative or lawyer may act on that person's behalf where he or she is abroad, through a properly executed power of attorney and affidavit. Organisations may bring public interest petitions on systemic problems, as Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh did on expatriate applications.[7] An individual passport writ Bangladesh petition, however, is strongest when it is brought by the affected citizen with his or her own documents.

There is no fixed limitation period for a writ, but delay weakens a claim of urgency. Where travel is time-sensitive, for medical treatment, employment abroad, study or a court date in another country, the petition should explain the deadline and attach the evidence: a hospital appointment, a visa with an expiry date, an employment contract or an admission letter. An urgent passport writ Bangladesh benches are asked to list out of turn will be taken up early only if the record shows why the matter cannot wait.

A second point concerns proportionality. Where the authority has a legitimate concern, such as a pending criminal case, a passport writ Bangladesh court may grant relief on conditions rather than refuse it, for example by requiring disclosure of travel details or an undertaking to return.[4] Offering sensible conditions in the petition itself often shortens the hearing.

Building a passport writ Bangladesh petition

The difference between a petition that obtains an order at the first hearing and one that is adjourned for months is usually the record. The sequence below reflects how we prepare these cases.

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Remedies the court can grant

The High Court Division may issue a rule nisi and, in clear cases, an interim direction to issue, renew or return the passport, or not to obstruct departure. It may declare an impounding or revocation order without lawful authority, direct a decision within a fixed period, and in public interest cases issue guidelines.[6] [7] Where a criminal case is pending, the court may attach conditions, such as disclosure of travel details, rather than refusing relief outright.[4]

Mistakes to avoid

• No written decision: apply in writing and request reasons, so there is a refusal to challenge.
• Ignoring pending cases: disclose any criminal case and show bail or court permission; concealment destroys credibility.
• Suing the wrong body: the Department of Immigration and Passports, the Home Ministry, Special Branch immigration and any requesting agency may all be needed as respondents.
• Waiting until the flight: file once the obstruction is known, not at the airport.
• Treating the appeal as fatal: the Article 10 appeal does not bar a writ where the order is without reasons or mala fide, but explain why it was not pursued.

Comparing the routes

The table below compares the main passport problems and the most effective remedy for each. On a phone, scroll it sideways.

Most cases are won by combining a precise statutory argument with the Article 36 right. Our constitutional and writ litigation practice handles passport, travel ban and immigration-obstruction petitions, and our guide to Bangladesh citizenship law covers dual citizens and those whose citizenship status affects their passport.

What to watch in 2026

Three developments matter. First, the rule on gender-based obstruction at the airport may produce binding guidelines on immigration practice.[6] Second, compliance with the 60-day order on expatriate applications will show whether processing delays are being resolved or will continue to generate individual writs.[7] Third, the move away from police verification shifts disputes towards NID data, so passport and NID problems increasingly need to be solved together.[9]

If your passport has been refused, delayed, impounded or revoked, or you have been stopped at the airport, contact TRW for a review of the record and the fastest remedy.

Frequently asked questions

Is travelling abroad a fundamental right in Bangladesh?

Yes. Article 36 guarantees the right to leave and re-enter Bangladesh, and the Appellate Division in Ershad held that the right to travel abroad is a fundamental right, subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by law.[1] [3]

On what grounds can a passport be refused?

Article 6 of the Passport Order allows refusal for reasons such as failure to appear in a criminal case, serious offences like trafficking or smuggling, or a threat to sovereignty, security or the public interest.[5]

When can the passport authority impound my passport?

Only on Article 7(2) grounds, such as wrongful possession, suppression of facts, security or public interest, a qualifying conviction or a court order prohibiting departure, with reasons recorded and furnished.[2] [3]

Do I have to appeal before filing a writ?

Not necessarily. In Ershad the Appellate Division held that the Article 10 appeal under the Passport Order did not bar a writ.[3]

Can the ACC or police stop me from leaving without a court order?

The High Court Division has held that no travel ban may be imposed without legal authority and set guidelines requiring a court order; the Appellate Division allowed urgent restriction only if confirmed by a court within three days.[4]

Can immigration stop an unmarried woman from travelling alone?

Marital status is not a ground under the Passport Order. In September 2026 the High Court Division issued a rule on such a stop and directed immigration not to obstruct the women without a lawful basis.[5] [6]

My renewal from abroad has been pending for months. What can I do?

Write to the mission and the Department of Immigration and Passports, then consider a writ. In August 2026 the court ordered pending expatriate applications to be processed within 60 days.[7]

Is police verification still required for a passport?

The government decided in February 2025 that it would no longer be mandatory, relying instead on NID and birth registration. Check current practice for your application.[9] [10]

Can police seize my passport in a civil dispute?

Article 12 permits seizure by authorised officers only on reasonable suspicion of a Passport Order offence. A seizure outside that framework can be challenged.[2]

What should a passport writ Bangladesh petition include?

The application and receipts, any refusal or impounding order, correspondence, NID and birth records, travel documents, details of any pending case and proof that you asked the authority to act.