ADITYA RAJ Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present writ petition has been filed for issuance of a direction upon the respondents to renew and issue a fresh passport to the petitioner after making correction in his date of birth.

(2.) The short facts of the case are that the date of birth mentioned in the passport of the petitioner is 22/2/1997 and the passport was issued by the respondent- authorities on 31/7/2006 on the basis of the date of birth mentioned as 22/2/1997 in the application filed before the passport authorities. In fact, the basis of the said date of birth mentioned as 22/2/1997 is a birth certificate of the petitioner bearing no. 7462 dtd. 31/10/1998, issued by the Patna Municipal Corporation, Patna. It appears that subsequently, the parents of the petitioner had applied before the Passport Office, Patna for renewal/ re-issue of the passport of the petitioner, however no claim was made for changing the date of birth leading to issuance of a new passport on 16/8/2011. It appears that subsequently, another application was filed by the petitioner for changing the date of birth from 22/2/1997 to 22/12/1997 on the basis of a birth certificate bearing no. 11758 dtd. 6/2/2016, issued by the Patna Municipal Corporation, Patna showing the date of birth of the petitioner to be 22/12/1997, whereafter the respondent- authorities had referred both the birth certificates of the petitioner to the Issuing Authority for confirming the genuineness of the same.

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that a bare perusal of the provisions contained in para 4(iii) of the Office Memorandum dtd. 26/11/2015, issued by the Ministry of External Affairs would show that normally in cases, where the applicant approaches the Passport Issuing Authority for change/ correction with regard to date of birth in the passport after a period of 05 years from the date of issuance of passport with alleged wrong date of birth, no such request is required to be entertained/ accepted by the Passport Issuing Authority and such application has to be rejected out-rightly, however there is an exception to the said provision, inasmuch as such cases are required to be considered where an applicant, who was minor at the time when passport with the alleged wrong date of birth was issued to him, approaches the Passport Issuing Authority, upon attaining the age of majority with a request to change the date of birth in the passport. In such cases, the Passport Issuing Authority shall consider the request of the applicant for change of date of birth and in case, he is satisfied with the claim, necessary change of date of birth may be made in the passport. It is thus submitted that since the passport was issued to the petitioner on 31/7/2006 when the petitioner was a minor, upon attaining majority, he has approached the Passport Issuing Authority by filing an application in the year 2016 for change of his date of birth and the basis for the same is his birth certificate dtd. 6/2/2016, issued by the respondent- Patna Municipal Corporation, Patna, hence it was/ is incumbent upon the Passport Issuing Authority to consider the case of the petitioner for change in his date of birth.