ABDUL KADIR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER is an advocate. He is also a Notary Public appointed as such for a period of three years from 11-3-1985 under S. 3 of the notaries Act, 53 of 1952, hereinafter referred to as the Act. As per S. 8 of the act the petitioner is entitled inter alia to verify, authenticate, certify or attest the execution of any instrument. An instrument is defined in S. 2 (b) as including every document by which any right or liability is. or purported to be, created, transferred, modified, limited, extended, suspended, extinguished or recorded. I must also mention here that as per S. 6 of the Act, the Central government and every State Government, should, during the month of January each year publish in the official gazette a list of Notaries appointed by the government.

(2.) PETITIONER's grievance is in relation to the refusal by the 4th respondent, the Regional Passport Officer at Cochin , to accept photographs certified by the petitioner for purposes of applications under the Passports Act 15 of 1967. PETITIONER alleges that the 4th respondent was accepting such photographs certified by the petitioner as valid, but that recently he has shifted his stand and returned such applications accompanied by photographs certified by the petitioner, with the remark that the photographs should be certified not by a notary but by a gazetted officer. PETITIONER's contention is that, as a Notary appointed under the Act, S. 8 enables him to certify the photographs for purposes of the Passports Act, inasmuch as such photographs constitute "instrument" as defined in S. 2 (b) of the Act. He also contends that even if the view taken by the 4th respondent is correct that the certification should be by a gazetted officer, a Notary appointed under the Act is a Gazetted officer, inasmuch as a list of Notaries is published, under S. 6, in the official Gazette. For this latter proposition, be places reliance on the comment in Moolchand M. Gupta's Commentaries on Laws relating to Notaries in India where the learned author observes thus at page 7: "gazetted Officer. Since the appointment and removal of a Notary are published in the official Gazette of the Government there seems no valid reason as to why a Notary may not be deemed or treated as Gazetted officer, in absence of any specific definition of Gazetted Officer. "

(3.) THE 4th respondent contends also that be has not accepted any application with photographs attested by the petitioner and submits further that even if any such application bad been accepted by mistake, that will not avail the petitioner. THE claim of the petitioner to be treated as a gazetted officer is also controverted.