Parental Disputes, Pending Matrimonial & Criminal Matters Between Parents No Ground To Deny Passport To Minor: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that passport can only be denied for reasons enumerated under Section 6 of the Passport Act, 1967 and cannot be denied for administrative consideration and in circumstance where there is parental dispute, matrimonial disputes and criminal matters pending between natural guardians of a minor.Referring to Section 6 of the Act, the bench of Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Swarupama Chaturvedi held “The authorities do not have a general or discretionary power to deny a passport on other extraneous or administrative grounds. In the present case of a minor, no such conditions exist that would justify rejection of the application. Parental disputes or pending matrimonial and criminal matters between the natural guardians cannot constitute a valid statutory reason for refusal. Therefore, the passport authorities are duty-bound to process and issue the passport once the prescribed formalities are completed and there is no prohibitory order.”Petitioner's passport request is pending before the passport Authority. Before the High Court, she pleaded that solely due to criminal cases filed by her parents against each other in their matrimonial dispute, her passport has been orally declined. It was pleaded that the father was unwilling to grant consent for her passport and the same cannot be a ground to withhold issuance of passport of a minor child. It was argued that the right to obtain a passport is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India and the same cannot be curtailed for a minor whose parents are involved in a matrimonial dispute. The Court observed that the Passport Authority had not outrightly rejected the application of the petitioner but had called her with certain documents. Relying on the judgment of the Apex Court in Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India wherein right to travel abroad was included in Article 21 of the Constitution of India & Mahesh Kumar Agarwal v. Union of India & Another, the Court held “A passport is a document issued to a citizen by the State, which enables its holder to apply for a visa and, subject to compliance with applicable laws and governmental orders, to cross international borders. The mere issuance of a passport does not itself confer a right to travel abroad in violation of any law, but it is a prerequisite for exercising the right to freedom of movement internationally.”It held that consent of natural guardians in case of minors cannot be used to curtail the rights of the minor indefinitely. It held that procedure must be complied with without unnecessary delays. Relying on Passport Rules, 1980, and the Passport Manual, the Court held that there are provisions which enable issuance of passport to a minor in case one guardian/ parent refuses to give consent, therefore, issuance of passport to a minor cannot be withheld solely on the ground that the father had refused to give consent. “The statutory declarations under Annexure-C is specifically provides to address the situation where one parent is unavailable or refuses consent without lawful justification and therefore the passport authority cannot sit over an application indefinitely on the basis of unsubstantiated objections or delay formal decision making beyond reasonable bounds, particularly when all required documents and declarations are in place and there is no court order restraining the issuance of the passport.”The Court held that the passport rules had taken into account the fact that at times permission of one parent/ guardian may not be available and provided for solution so that the passport of a minor would not be withheld for such reasons. Accordingly, the Court directed issuance of passport to the petitioner after completing all formalities. Case Title: Poem Jaiswar v. Union Of India And Another [WRIT - C No. - 9771 of 2025]Click Here To Read/Download Order

Parental Disputes, Pending Matrimonial & Criminal Matters Between Parents No Ground To Deny Passport To Minor: Allahabad High Court

Upasna Agrawal

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