IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) FRIDAY, THE NINETEENTH DAY OF JUNE TWO THOUSAND AND NINE PRESENT THE HON'BLE MS JUSTICE G.ROHINI WRIT PETITION NO : 11466 of 2009 Between: Bowli Aqil Hussain S/o.Bowli Mustaq Hussain R/o.H.No.1-4-723, Bholakpur, Musheerabad, Hyderabad. ..... PETITIONER AND The Passport Officer, The Regional Passport Office, Near Clock Tower, Secunderabad. .....RESPONDENT Petition under Article 226 of the constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the Affidavit filed herein the High Court will be pleased to pass an order or writ particularly writ in the nature of Mandamus declaring the actions of the respondent officials in refusing to receive the application of the petitioner dt. 27.05.2009 for correction of date of birth as 10.02.1963 with that of existing wrong date of birth 20.07.1959 in the existing passport No: R 664305, dt. 21st Sept., 1981 issued by the respondent, renewed in 1991 and for issuing fresh passport by adding correcting the name of the petitioner as "Bowli Aqil Hussain" and father name as "Bowli Mustaq Hussain" and by taking back the existing passport and asking the petitioner to bring "Decree from the Civil Court of Law" as arbitrary and illegal, against the principles of law and the rules of natural justice and pass. Counsel for the Petitioner:MR.BAJRANG SINGH THAKUR Counsel for the Respondent No.: MR.P.VENUGOPAL The Court made the following : THE HON’BLE Ms. JUSTICE G. ROHINI WRIT PETITION No.11466 of 2009 ORDER : This writ petition is filed seeking a declaration that the action of the respondent in not considering the request of the petitioner for correction of entries in his Passport bearing No. R664305, as arbitrary and illegal. The petitioner states that his correct date of birth as entered in the Secondary School Certificate issued by the Board of Secondary Education is 10-02-63. However, in his passport bearing No.R664305 the date of birth was wrongly mentioned as 20-7-1959. Similarly, his name and his father’s name were mentioned in the passport without surname. Having noticed the said mistakes, the petitioner approached the respondent for necessary corrections in the passport. However, the respondent did not receive his application and insisted upon producing an order from competent Court. Hence, this Writ Petition. I have heard the learned Counsel for both the parties. It is to be noted that though there is no provision under the Passports Act, 1967 providing for correction of entries in the passport, the Government of India issued instructions/clarifications vide Circular dated 18-04-2001 which run as under : (a) Where an applicant is seeking rectification/Correction of a mistake in the entry of date of birth/place of birth in the passport, PIA (Passport Issuing Authority) may after verifying/satisfying himself, affect the correction treating the same as a technical correction. There is no need for a declaratory order in such cases. (b) Where a competent authority issuing a birth certificate or an educational board registering a date of birth along with place of birth as valid were to issue any correction or amendment, PIA may effect the necessary amendment in the passport without insisting on a Court Order. As per the provisions of Section 21 of the General Clauses Act, 1997, a competent authority issuing a certificate could also make necessary amendments to the same. (c) Where the initial entry has been made on the basis of a supportive document issued by one competent authority and the applicant subsequently requests for a change on the basis of a certificate issued by another competent authority i.e., municipal authorities resulting in conflicting sources of valid proof, the PIA should direct the applicant to obtain a civil order from a competent Court of jurisdiction, certifying the valid date of birth/place of birth. The above instructions are binding on the respondent and any request for correction of the entries in the passport has to be considered in terms of the Circular dated 18-04-2001 according to which a declaration from a competent Court of jurisdiction is required only where Clause (c) of the Circular dated 18.04.2001 is attracted. Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, the Writ Petition is disposed of granting liberty to the petitioner to submit the application for correction of entries in his passport along with all the relevant supporting material in which event the respondent shall receive and consider the same in terms of the Circular dated 18-04- 2001 and pass appropriate orders in accordance with law within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of such application. No costs. __________________ Justice G. Rohini Date: 12-6-2009 mrb