The Delhi High Court has observed that the passport
of a minor child can be issued without the biological father's name under
varying circumstances and that such a relief depends upon the "facts of
each case."
In a plea moved by a minor son and his mother
seeking deletion of the father's name from his passport and for re-issuance of
a fresh passport without mentioning the father's name, Justice Pratibha M.
Singh said that the Passport Manual of 2020 and the official memorandum issued
by Union Ministry of External Affairs on February 28 last year recognise that
passports can be issued under different circumstances without father's name.
No hard and fast rule can be applied in such cases,
the judge remarked.
"Such a relief ought to be considered,
depending upon the factual position emerging in each case. No hard and fast
rule can be applied. There are myriad situations in the case of matrimonial
discord between parents, where the child's passport application may have to be
considered by the authorities," the court added.
In peculiar cases where there is no contact of the
father with the mother or child, his name need not be included in the child's
passport, Justice Singh said perusing the Office Memorandum (OM).
The court said: "Irrespective of the fact that
the applicable clauses in the Manual may be different, the spirit behind the
said decisions is clear, i.e., that under certain circumstances the name of the
biological father can be deleted and the surname can also be changed."
It was further said that the Passport Manual merely
contemplates some of the situations in matrimonial discord cases where a
child's passport application may have to be considered by the authorities.
Depending on the fact of the situation, however, the
need for flexibility exists and a thorough examination and understanding of
court orders may also be required.
Directing a new passport be issued in favour of the
minor without his father's name who left his mother when she was pregnant, the
court emphasised that the order "shall not be treated as a
precedent."
The Union of India's submission, which said that the
OM would only apply to "single unwed parents," was also dismissed by
the court.
"Wherever the term 'single unwed parent' is to
be mentioned, the same has specifically been mentioned by the Passport
Authorities. In other clauses the term 'single parent' is used. However, the
mere furnishing of the name does not result in the conclusion that the name of
the father has to be compulsorily mentioned. It would depend on the
circumstances of each case," the court said.