The Passport Manual issued for smooth functioning is only guidelines or solutions to answer circumstances that would emerge, but it cannot run counter to the statute including rules: Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka HC said under Justice M Nagaprasanna in S. Nancy Nithya v. The Government of India and others (Writ Petition No. 22378 of 2022) that “The Rules are framed by the Central Government in terms of Section 24 of the Act. Therefore, they are part of the statute and are statutory.”
FACTS
The petitioner and one K.Shivakumar got married on 16.07.2009. From the wedlock, a child is born and later, named as Sachin Anant, who was also issued a passport – a minor’s passport. It appears that after about 8 years, after the birth of the child, the relationship between the petitioner and her husband turned sore. The petitioner files a petition in M.C.No.174 of 2020, seeking a decree of divorce. Earlier the petitioner had also filed a petition seeking custody of the minor son before the concerned Court in G & W.C. No.40 of 2019. The said case is pending consideration before the concerned Court. The petitioner who claims to have the custody of the son, even as on date, seeks to visit Australia to celebrate Christmas along with her son and accordingly, applied for renewal/re-issuance of the minor’s passport on the website of the 2nd respondent. But, the petitioner’s minor son’s could not be re-issued as the minor son’s father – K.Shivakumar’s consent was mandatory for renewal/re-issuance of passport. The petitioner claims to have visited the office of the 2nd respondent several times, all of which went unheeded and, therefore, is knocking this Court seeking a direction to the 2nd respondent for re-issue of passport to the minor son, who is with the petitioner.
JUDGEMENT
By referring to Clause 11 of Case No. B which deals with applications filed by one parent/guardian when consent of one or both parents is not possible, the bench said “In the event, a single parents is the applicant, without the consent of the other, the documents required are proof of address, proof of date of birth, attested photocopy of passport of both or either parent and a declaration affirming the particulars furnished in the application about the minor.”
The court further said that “The Manual for smooth functioning is also an accepted norm but it cannot run counter to the Rules.”
The court suggested “it is necessary for the Central Government to bring in such amendment to the Rules, if it wants the situation emerged in the Manual to be tackled with, failing which, rejecting 17 passports relying on the Manual particularly, in the case of passport of minors, would be rendered unsustainable as they would suffer from want of tenability.”
The Court ordered that the 2nd respondent will have to consider the application of the petitioner in terms of the Rules and seek any document or clarification from the parent in terms of the Rules and not in terms of the Passport Manual.
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JUDGEMENT REVIEWED BY VAISHNAVI SINGH