The short answer
When immigration finds a problem with a passport or visa, the traveller is usually handed to the airport police and an FIR follows. For Indian citizens that FIR typically invokes section 12 of the Passports Act, 1967 and the BNS forgery and cheating provisions. For foreign nationals it invokes the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025. The first questions are who supplied the document, what the traveller knew, and which provisions have actually been invoked.
Typical airport situations
| Situation | Usual provisions | The real issue |
|---|---|---|
| Indian traveller departing on a visa that turns out to be forged, often supplied by an agent | Passports Act s. 12; BNS forgery and cheating | Knowledge: was the traveller a participant or a victim of the agent? |
| Deportee returning to India whose passport or travel history shows irregularities | Passports Act s. 12; BNS; sometimes the Emigration Act, 1983 against agents | Separating the traveller's exposure from the agent's, and the traveller's value as a witness |
| Person holding two Indian passports, or a passport obtained by suppressing facts | Passports Act s. 12(1) or (1A); impounding or revocation under s. 10(3) | Intent, the explanation for the duplicate, and the separate passport-authority proceedings |
| Foreign national leaving after the visa expired, or in breach of visa conditions | Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 | Whether the breach was deliberate, and the exit and penalty process |
| Foreign national arriving on a forged visa or passport | Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025; BNS | Custody, consular access, bail conditions and removal |
| ECR passport holder offloaded at emigration | Emigration Act, 1983 (clearance), not itself an offence | Obtaining emigration clearance; an offence arises only if documents were falsified |
Indian citizens: the Passports Act and BNS
- Section 12(1), Passports Act. Knowingly giving false information to obtain a passport or travel document, altering a passport, and using another person's passport, among others. The punishment is imprisonment up to two years, a fine, or both.
- Section 12(1A). A person who is not a citizen of India and obtains an Indian passport by concealing nationality, or possesses a forged passport or travel document, faces one to five years and a fine of ₹10,000 to ₹50,000.
- Section 12(2). Abetment is punished like the offence. This is the provision usually invoked against agents.
- BNS, 2023. Forgery (section 336), using a forged document as genuine (section 340) and cheating (section 318) are commonly added, and they change the bail position.
- Passport action. Separately, the passport authority may impound or revoke the passport under section 10(3). That order is appealed under section 11, and a writ lies where the procedure fails.
Many travellers stopped with forged visas paid an agent who promised a genuine one. Where that is the case, the record built at the start, including payments, chats and the agent's details, decides whether the traveller is treated as an accused, a witness or a complainant.
Foreign nationals: the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025
The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 came into force on 1 September 2025. It replaced the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act, 2000, and the Immigration and Foreigners Rules, 2025 were notified with it.
| Offence | Punishment |
|---|---|
| Entering India without a valid passport or visa (section 21) | Up to 5 years, a fine up to ₹5 lakh, or both |
| Using or supplying a forged or fraudulently obtained passport or visa (section 22) | 2 to 7 years and a fine of ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh |
| Overstaying or breaching visa conditions (section 23) | Up to 3 years, a fine up to ₹3 lakh, or both |
A foreign national's case also involves consular access, an interpreter, bail conditions that can actually be met, and the immigration consequences of the case, including exit permission and removal. These need to be planned together rather than one after another.
Bail and the way forward
- Bail depends on the provisions actually invoked. Many Passports Act offences carry lower maximum sentences, but adding BNS forgery sections, or an allegation of an agent network, often makes the police and courts stricter.
- The first production before the Magistrate is the moment to challenge an inflated set of charges and to propose conditions such as passport deposit, reporting and surety.
- For deportees and agent-fraud victims, an early complaint against the agent, with payment records, changes how the case is seen.
- Where a Look Out Circular has been opened in connection with the case, it is dealt with separately. See Look Out Circular.
How we assist
- Bail at the first production and anticipatory bail where an FIR is expected after return.
- Complaints against agents and the documentary record of the traveller's position.
- Passport impounding and revocation appeals, and writ petitions.
- Foreign nationals: bail, consular coordination, exit permission and immigration status.