Delhi High Court says every citizen has the right to hold a passport 

Citizen has legal right to hold passport; authorities can only refuse/cancel on grounds prescribed in law. Delhi High Court noted that mistake by parents in giving wrong date of birth cannot be held against petitioner. It directed that a fresh passport with changed date of birth be issued to petitioner.

The Delhi High Court has said that every citizen has a legal right to hold a passport, and authorities cannot refuse to renew it merely on an apprehension that the earlier passports might have been misused.

Justice Subramonium Prasad, while dealing with a petition by an Indian citizen seeking a change in the date of birth mentioned in his passport, said denial of the travel document seriously impedes the rights of a citizen, and the authorities can refuse to renew a passport or cancel it only on grounds prescribed in law.

“Every citizen has a legal right to hold a passport and the right can be taken away only in accordance with law. The authorities are bound to follow the procedure prescribed under law and can refuse to renew/cancel a passport only on grounds prescribed in law,” the judge said.

The authorities had refused to renew the petitioner’s passport with the updated date of birth on the ground that the claim for correction did not seem to be genuine.

The passport authority argued that approximately 14 years had passed since the issuance of the first passport to the petitioner, and he might misuse the travel document if it was renewed or re-issued with a new date of birth.

The High Court, however, noted that the authorities have not provided any basis for rejecting the petitioner’s renewal application, which was supplemented with validly issued government documents.

“In the present case, the only reason that is being put forward by the Respondent (Passport authority) is a mere possibility that the earlier passports which had been issued on the basis of Birth Certificates...could have been misused which can never be a valid ground for denial of issuing the passport,” the court said.