PIYUSH CHOPRA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, said to be 26 years in age, and a qualified chartered accountant, has filed this writ petition stating grievance that the respondents have unnecessarily kept his application for issuance of passport pending and were not issuing the requisite passport despite completion of all the formalities and despite his having answered all the queries and objections. The petitioner has, inter alia, averred that earlier he made an application to the respondent No. 3, the Regional Passport Officer, Jaipur for issuance of passport on 29-6-2004. On the said application, address proof was demanded that was, according to the petitioner, furnished. The matter, however, remained pending with the respondent No. 3 and ultimately, the petitioner was informed in the month of July, 2008 that his file had been closed on 10-10-2007 and that he shall have to submit a fresh application for passport. The petitioner has further averred that in the given circumstances, he made an application afresh on 8-2-2008 while remitting the requisite fees and enclosing all the necessary documents. This application was registered as file No. A-022938/2008.

(2.) The passport having not been issued despite moving the application afresh, the petitioner demanded information about the proceedings on his application under the Right to Information Act whereupon he was informed under the communication dated 4-5-2009 (Annex. 6) that there was a discrepancy about his date of birth as mentioned in the application and as mentioned in his mother's passport; and that passport could not be issued to him for want of necessary proceedings, explanation, documents and penalty. The petitioner preferred an appeal in relation to the said communication dated 4-5-2009 issued under the Right to Information Act but then, with his letter dated 15-3-2010, also remitted an amount of Rs. 2,000/- towards penalty and sent several of the documents including his Secondary School Examination Certificate issued by the Central Board of Secondary Education, his driving licence, and his certificate of membership of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

(3.) The petitioner has stated the grievance that despite passage of sufficient time and despite his having furnished all the requisite explanation/information, the respondent authorities have failed to issue him passport; and on the other hand, he was suffering serious hardship inasmuch as he was unable to take up CPA course from USA and then, his present employer at Hyderabad having contacts all over the world had also enjoined upon him to submit the passport but he was unable to satisfy the requirements of the employer.