IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) WEDNESDAY, THE TWENTY EIGHTH DAY OF JULY TWO THOUSAND AND FOUR PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE V.V.S.RAO WRIT PETITION NO : 13145 of 2004 Between: Asra Begum, D/o.Basheer Khan, W/o.Viquaruddin Masood, R/o.16-2-138/A/1, Akber Bagh, Hyderabad. ..... PETITIONER AND The Regional Passport Officer, Adjacent prashat Theatre, Clock Tower, Secundrabad. .....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 issue an appropriate Writ, order or direction more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus declaring the action of the respondent in File No. HYD MO 1296704 dated 15-6-2004 thereby insisting the petitioner to get declaratory order for correction of date of birth as highly illegal and arbitrary. Counsel for the Petitioner:MR.ABDUL NAJEEB KHAN Counsel for the Respondent: MR.A.RAJASEKHAR REDDY The Court made the following : ORDER: This writ petition is filed seeking a declaration that the action of the Passport Issuing Authority, respondent herein, in insisting the petitioner to get declaratory order for correction of date of birth as illegal and arbitrary. The petitioner also seeks a direction to the respondent to reconsider the case of petitioner in terms of Circular dated 18.4.2001 issued by Government of India, Ministry of Exernal Affairs. It is the case of the petitioner that she was born on 17.11.1979. In 1997, she applied for passport and in the application for passport inadvertently she mentioned the date of birth as 17.11.1972. Accordingly, passport bearing No.A 3139759 was issued on 26.6.1997 showing her date of birth as 17.11.1972. She approached the respondent with a request to change the date of birth. The respondent by communication dt.15.6.2004 informed the petitioner to furnish declaratory order from Court for correction of date of birth. Hence, the present Writ Petition. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Standing Counsel for the Central Government. In Ali Imran v. Regional Passport Officer, Secunderabad, I have considered the Circular dated 18-4-2001 issued by the Government of India in the Ministry of External Affairs pursuant to the judgment of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in Civil Writ Petition No.1072 of 2000. The instructions/clarifications issued in the said Circular read as under. a. Where an applicant is seeking rectification/correction of a mistake in the entry on 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 i.e., school/educational 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. In view of the above clarifications, I disposed of the said case observing as under. Be it noted that under the provisions of the Passports Act, 1967, no power is vested in the Regional Passport Officer to correct entries in the passport. However, pursuant to the judgment of the High Court of Bombay referred to hereinabove, it is now permissible for the Regional Passport Officer to accept applications for rectification/correction. Nonetheless, as per clause (c) above, if an entry had been made on the basis of a supportive document issued by one authority i.e., school or educational authority and subsequently the applicant requests for a change of the entry on the basis of the certificate issued by another authority the passport issuing authority is required to direct the applicant to obtain a proper declaration from the civil court. In this case, the petitioner has produced Secondary School Certificate to prove that her correct date of birth is 17.11.1979. Therefore, the claim of the petitioner is well supported and squarely falls in Clause (a) of the Circular dated 18-4-2001. Following the judgment of this Court in Ali Imran (supra), this writ petition is also disposed of directing the respondent to consider the application of the petitioner along with the Secondary School Certificate No.L 0294320 dt.8.6.1995 issued by the Secretary, Board of Secondary Education, Andhra Pradesh, and to pass appropriate orders in the light of the observations made in the above judgment. There shall be no order as to costs. ________________ (V.V.S.RAO, J.) 28.7.2004 bnr ASSISTANT REGISTRAR // TRUE COPY // SECTION OFFICER To 1.The Regional Passport Officer, Regional Passport Office, Adjacent Prashant Theatre, Clock Tower, Secunderabad. 2. 2CCs to Sri A.Rajasekhar Reddy, SC for Central Govt., High Court Bldgs., Hyderabad. 3. 2 CD copies.