HARMINDER KAUR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners through this petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India pray for a direction to respondent No. 3 to re-issue the passport to them.

(2.) It is the stated case of the petitioners that husband of petitioner No. 1 and father of petitioner No. 2 had gone to Canada in the year 2000 and gained asylum there. The petitioners left India in the year 2007 on permanent resident visa to Canada on an Indian Passport. The husband of petitioner No. 1 became a permanent resident of Toronto on 21.4.2007 and was granted permanent resident card. Petitioner No. 2 was also granted similar card. Due to some emergency, the petitioners had to travel to India. They applied for re-issue of the passport to the Indian Consular Office at Toronto and were granted a short duration six months passport on 4.3.2011 issued at Toronto and valid upto 3.9.2011 in the case of petitioner No. 1, whereas petitioner No. 2 was issued a similar passport on 16.3.2011 valid upto 15.6.2011. The petitioners approached the Vancouver Consular Office subsequent thereto on 12.10.2011, 13.10.2011, 28.10.2011, 29.10.2011 and 1.11.2011 for their passports, but were denied the same. Finally they were given Emergency Certificate to travel one-way from Canada to India without any document for return. The petitioners accordingly travelled to India and have been persistently pursuing their case with the Passport authorities in India for release of the passport and travel documents, so that they can return to Canada.

(3.) The respondents have filed their reply and have questioned the status of the petitioners to say that they are "derivative asylees" for the reason that Harjinder Singh Brar, husband of petitioner No. 1 and father of petitioner No. 2 was granted asylum by the Canadian Authorities and finally granted a permanent resident status which benefit petitioner No. 2 has also got similarly and in view of this, they are not entitled to any facility from the Indian Authorities and at best, they are free to approach the Canadian Government for their travel documents.