Parents Strained Relationship Shall Not Affect Child's Welfare: Madras HC Asks MEA, Indian Consulate In US To Renew Minor's Passport

The Madras High Court recently asked the Ministry of External Affairs and the Consulate General of India in Houston, USA to renew the passport of a 10th-grade minor girl living in the USA with her father. The application for renewal was rejected by the consulate for want of the mother's signature. Justice S Sounthar noted that the relationship between the father and the mother had become strained and they had been living separately since 2021. The court remarked that the misunderstanding between the parents should not affect the education of the child. “The strained relationship between the parents shall not be allowed to affect the welfare of the minor child. It is pertinent to mention that right to education is recognized as a fundamental right of every child below the age of 14 years by Article 21-A of the Constitution of India. Further, right to education is integral part of right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. It is needless to say, a person cannot live a dignified life without proper education or atleast school education,” the court said. The court said that it cannot go into the question whether pursuing education in United States under the custody of the petitioner father is in the best interest of the child or not. "However, misunderstanding between the parents shall not affect or interrupt the education of the child. The question, who is entitled to custody of the child and what is good for the future of the child etc., can be decided by the Competent Court in appropriate proceedings. However, in no case, the education of the child shall get jeopardized. The minor child is aged about 15 years and the legal guardianship vests with the petitioner and in the absence of any order of the court of competent jurisdiction depriving the petitioner of his custody over the child, I do not think the Official Respondents can refuse renewal of passport on technical consideration that one of the parent has not given her consent for renewal of the passport," it added.The court was hearing a petition filed by the father seeking direction to the Centre and the Consulate to renew and reissue the child's passport without insisting on the mother's consent. the court was informed that the couple married in 2008 and relocated to USA in 2013. He submitted that in 2021, his wife returned to India and had been residing with her parents since then while the daughter continued to live with him and was pursuing 10th Grade in USA. He added that when an application was submitted to renew the passport, the Consulate returned it with an instruction to furnish a copy of the divorce decree along with the court order for child custody or a photograph of the passport attested by both parents. Since the mother refused to cooperate for passport renewal unless she was taken to the US, the father approached the court. the father argued that the condition imposed by the mother was putting their daughter's education in jeopardy. The Consulate submitted that as per the passport manual, consent from both parents was essential for the issue as well as renewal of the passport. It was also submitted that in case of wilful refusal to give consent by one of the parents, the passport may be issued, after receipt of affidavit from the parent having custody of the child stating that the other parent wilfully denied consent. It was also submitted that in such cases, the Passport Issuing Authority should inform the unwilling parent regarding the issue of a passport. The wife argued that after she had come to India in 2021 to call on her parents, her husband had not taken any steps to take her back to United States and thus she was forced to live with her parents. She submitted that she was ready to give consent for renewal of passport on the condition that the husband agrees to facilitate her return to the US. During the hearing, the Inspector of Police also informed that the wife had filed a complaint against the husband under Section 498A of IPC and that the same was pending investigation. The court noted that if the passport of the child was allowed to expire without renewal, there was a danger that the child may acquire illegal migrant status and the same may adversely affect the child's education. The court observed that merely because the passport manual prescribed consent of both parents at the time of renewal, the right of the child to pursue education could not be denied on technical grounds. “Merely because, the passport manual prescribed that renewal application shall be made with the consent of both the parents, the right available to the child to pursue the education and her passport renewal cannot be denied on technical grounds,” the court said. The court also added that if the wife wished to join her husband in US, she could always explore other remedies available under law. The court noted that after being...

Parents Strained Relationship Shall Not Affect Child's Welfare: Madras HC Asks MEA, Indian Consulate In US To Renew Minor's Passport

Upasana Sajeev

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