THE HON’BLE Ms. JUSTICE G. ROHINI WRIT PETITION No.15753 OF 2010 Dated: 06.07.2010 Between : Mohammed Rafay Ali … Petitioner And The Regional Passport Officer, Having Office at Clock Towers, Near Prashant Talkies, Secunderabad. … Respondent THE HON’BLE Ms. JUSTICE G. ROHINI WRIT PETITION No.15753 OF 2010 ORDER : This writ petition is filed seeking a declaration that the action of the respondent in not altering / correcting date of birth of the petitioner in the passport as arbitrary and illegal. The petitioner was issued Passport No.L 397301, dated 27.05.1992. It is stated that his date of birth in the said passport was recorded as 15.10.1988 instead of 15.01.1990 basing on a mistake crept in the application form. It is claimed that as a matter of fact, his correct date of birth is 15.01.1990 as per his SSC record. Having noted the mistake in the passport, he made an application to the respondent on 15.6.2010 for correction of date of birth in the passport. Alleging that the respondent refused to entertain the same and insisted upon obtaining a declaratory order from the competent Civil Court, the present writ petition is filed. 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. As could be seen, a declaration from a competent Court cannot be insisted for considering each and every request of correction of entries in the passport. Such a declaration from a competent Court of jurisdiction is required only where Clause (c) of the Circular dated 18.04.2001 is attracted. Hence, the respondent is bound to receive the petitioner’s application and after considering the same in the light of the supporting material produced by him, shall pass appropriate orders. Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, the Writ Petition is disposed of granting liberty to the petitioner to resubmit his application along with all the relevant supporting material to establish his correct date of birth. The respondent shall receive and consider the petitioner’s application 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. ____________ G. ROHINI, J Dt.06.07.2010 Ivd .