WP/21293/2004 of Syed Faiyazuddin, Vs The Regional Passport Officer, on 27 December 2004

O r d e r:

Questioning the proceedings of the first respondent-Regional Passport Officer,Secunderabad in file No. HYD MO 2160704, dated 08-09-2004 directing thepetitioner to get a declaratory order from civil court for correction of his date of birth inhis Passport bearing No. A-2863077, as illegal and arbitrary, and consequentlydirect the first respondent to issue fresh Passport with correct date of birth, thepetitioner filed this writ petition.

The petitioner states that his grandfather, who is an illiterate, entered his date of birthwrongly in the school record as 03-05-1974, as reflected in the School TransferCertificate, on the basis of which, he applied for Passport during 1997, and he wasissued Passport bearing No. A-2863077 by the first respondent. On realizing that hisdate of birth was recorded wrongly in the school records, the petitioner states that hegot his date of birth corrected in the school records as 03-05-1979, as is evident fromhis Secondary School Certificate. The petitioner states that as his date of birth wasrecorded wrongly in the Passport, he made an application dated 03-09-2004 to thefirst respondent for correction of his date of birth in the Passport as 03-05-1979instead of 03-05-1974. While so, it is the case of the petitioner that the firstrespondent issued the impugned proceedings directing him to get a declaratoryorder from Civil Court inasmuch as the correction of his date of birth sought by himon the basis of Secondary School Certificate is different from the one recorded in theTransfer Certificate, on the basis of which the Passport was issued.

Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Standing Counsel forthe Central Government.

The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner’s grandfatherbeing an illiterate got the date of birth of the petitioner wrongly entered in the schoolrecords as 03-05-1974 instead of 03-05-1979, and on the basis of the date of birthrecorded in the Transfer Certificate, the petitioner was issued Passport, and inasmuch as the petitioner after realizing that his date of birth was wrongly recordedin the school records, got it corrected as 03-05-1979, which is reflected from theSecondary School Certificate, the first respondent ought not to have refused tocorrect his date of birth in the Passport on the basis of the Secondary SchoolCertificate on the ground that the same is different from the one recorded in theTransfer Certificate and directed him to get a declaratory order from civil Court.

The learned Standing Counsel for the Central Government on the other handproduced the application and the documents, namely Transfer Certificate etc.,submitted by the petitioner along with it, for obtaining Passport, and submitted thatthe date of birth of the petitioner as entered by the petitioner in the application andTransfer Certificate, is recorded in the Passport as 03-05-1974, and inasmuch as thepetitioner is seeking correction of his date of birth as 03-05-1979 on the basis of theone recorded in the Secondary School Certificate, which is different from the oneentered in the Transfer Certificate, the first respondent refused to correct the date ofbirth of the petitioner and had rightly directed him to obtain a declaratory order fromcivil Court, and no exception can be taken thereto.

It is required to notice that there is no provision under the Passports Act,1967, which empowers the Regional Passport Officer to correct entries in thePassport. However, pursuant to the judgment of the High Court of Judicature atBombay, in W.P.

No. 1072 of 2000, the Government of India issued instructions/clarifications inCircular dated 18-4-2001, which are to the following effect:

a. Where an applicant is seeking rectification/correction of a mistake in the entry on date ofbirth/place of birth in the passport, PIA (Passport Issuing Authority) may afterverifying/satisfying himself, effect the correction treating the same as a technicalcorrection. There is no need for a declaratory order in such cases.birth/place of birth in the passport, PIA (Passport Issuing Authority) may afterverifying/satisfying himself, effect the correction treating the same as a technicalcorrection. There is no need for a declaratory order in such cases.

b. Where a competent authority issuing a birth certificate or an educational board registering adate of birth along with place of birth as valid were to issue any correction oramendment, PIA may effect the necessary amendment in the passport withoutinsisting on a Court Order. As per the provisions of Section 21 of the General ClausesAct, 1997, a competent authority issuing a certificate could also make necessaryamendments to the same.date of birth along with place of birth as valid were to issue any correction oramendment, PIA may effect the necessary amendment in the passport withoutinsisting on a Court Order. As per the provisions of Section 21 of the General ClausesAct, 1997, a competent authority issuing a certificate could also make necessaryamendments to the same.

c. Where the initial entry has been made on the basis of a supportive document issued by onecompetent authority i.e., school/educational authority and the applicant subsequentlyrequests for a change on the basis of a certificate issued by another competentauthority i.e., municipal authorities resulting in conflicting sources of valid proof, thePIA should direct the applicant to obtain a civil order from a competent court ofjurisdiction, certifying the valid date of birth/place of birth.competent authority i.e., school/educational authority and the applicant subsequentlyrequests for a change on the basis of a certificate issued by another competentauthority i.e., municipal authorities resulting in conflicting sources of valid proof, thePIA should direct the applicant to obtain a civil order from a competent court ofjurisdiction, certifying the valid date of birth/place of birth.

made, the Passport Issuing Authority is required to follow the aforementionedinstructions.

At the time of obtaining Passport during 1997, the petitioner admittedlysubmitted School Transfer Certificate, issued by Government Chandrashekar AzadHigh School, as proof of his date of birth, and the date of birth, as recorded in thesaid School Transfer Certificate and as entered by the petitioner in the applicationsubmitted by him for obtaining the Passport, was recorded in the Passport issued tohim, and the petitioner does not dispute the same. Though the petitioner contendsthat his grandfather being an illiterate had entered his date of birth wrongly as 03-05-1974 in the school records, and on realizing it, got the same corrected in the schoolrecords as 03-05-1979, as is reflected from the Secondary School Certificate, it isrequired to notice that the petitioner studied up to VI class in GovernmentChandrashekar Azad High School, and appears to have studied and passed 10[th]class from St. Theresa’s High School, and it is not known, how and on what basis,the date of birth of the petitioner, was corrected in the Secondary School Certificatefrom that of the one reflected in the School Transfer Certificate. Since the date ofbirth of the petitioner, as recorded in the School Transfer Certificate, on the basis ofwhich he obtained Passport, is quite different from the one recorded in theSecondary School Certificate, on the basis of which the petitioner is seekingcorrection of his date of birth, and the date of birth of the petitioner in the saidcertificates having been recorded by two different school authorities, which arerunning into conflict with each other, in order to remove the ambiguity as to his dateof birth, the respondent had rightly called upon the petitioner to produce adeclaratory order from the civil court as to his correct date of birth so as to effectnecessary correction in the Passport issued to him.

In the above view of the matter, I see no merit in the writ petition, and thesame is accordingly dismissed. No costs.

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Date: December, 2004.SVV/KSR