Centre needs to amend rules if it wants to sustain condition imposed in manual on issuing passport to minors: HC
The Hindu
Bengaluru
The High Court of Karnataka has said that the Central government is required to amend the Passport Rules, 1980, if it wants to sustain the condition imposed in its passport manual stating that parents have to obtain permission from the court, where their plea for divorce is pending, when one of them applies for issuance or renewal of passport of their minor child without the consent the other.
“This court is aware of the fact that manifold circumstances arise before the passport authorities when they are faced with the problem of granting a passport. The manual for smooth functioning is also an accepted norm but it cannot run counter to the Passport Rules, 1980,” the court observed while pointing out that this condition in the manual is contrary to the rules for dealing with situation for issuing passports for minors on an application by one of the parents.
Justice M. Nagaprasanna made these observations while allowing a petition filed by the mother of a minor child. The passport authority in Bengaluru had not issued the passport to her son citing the condition prescribed in the passport manual.
However, the court pointed out that the Rules have prescribed certain norms for issuing a passport to a minor child when the application is made by one of the parents sans consent from other parent during the pendency of their divorce plea.
Also, the condition prescribed in the manual that permission of the court (where the plea for their divorce is pending) is required for issuing passport to their minor child, is contrary to the rules, the court said.
The court directed the passport authority to consider the petitioner’s plea for the issuance/renewal of the passport for her minor son within seven days.
Prarthana Prasad is a social media influencer, entrepreneur and a leading voice from the LGBTQ+ community. At a recent Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Conclave held in Bengaluru she opened up about how she is often a “token ticket” for the corporate world, increasingly contacted by brands for promotion during Pride Month.