THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION NO. 7527 OF 2010 Dated 7th April, 2010 Between: Pittala Mohan Kumar …Petitioner And The Regional Passport Officer …Respondents Counsel for the petitioner : Sri D.Issac Counsel for the respondents: Ms.A.V.Vijaya Kumari Addl.S.C for Central Government The Court made the following ORDER: This writ petition is filed for a Mandamus to declare the action of the respondent in not considering the request of the petitioner to correct his date of birth in passport as 17.07.1983 instead of 17.04.1980 as illegal and arbitrary. The petitioner sought for a direction to the respondent to correct his date of birth as above. I have heard Sri D.Issac, learned counsel for the petitioner, and Ms.A.V.Vijaya Kumari, learned counsel representing Sri Ponnam Ashok Goud, learned Assistant Solicitor General appearing for the respondent. The petitioner pleaded that he was issued passport bearing No.F2787450 on 11.05.2005. As his date of birth was wrongly mentioned in the said passport, he stated to have approached the respondent with an application for rectification of the said mistake but the respondent has not received the same on the ground that unless the petitioner obtains an order from the competent Court, such an application cannot be entertained. Hence, the petitioner filed the present writ petition. The learned counsel for the petitioner placed reliance on Circular, dated 18-4-2001, issued by the Government of India and contended that the petitioner’s case falls under Clause (a) of the said Circular. It is relevant to reproduce the contents of the said Circular hereunder: “ 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”. According to the above Circular, where the passport issuing authority is satisfied that a mistake occurred in the entry of date of birth, after verification/satisfying himself, he can effect correction in the passport treating the same as a technical correction; and, in such a case, there is no need for a declaratory order. Even in cases falling under Clause (b), where the competent authority, who has issued the certificate earlier, has issued a corrected or amended certificate, there is no need for the person seeking rectification of entry in the passport regarding date of birth to approach a civil Court and obtain a decree. It is only in respect of the persons falling in Clause (c) i.e., where there are two conflicting documents issued by different authorities, a person will have to approach the civil Court and obtain a decree. In the present case, it is the case of the petitioner that the entry made in the passport is a mistake. He placed reliance on the Secondary School Certificate for correction of the date of birth. If the plea of the petitioner is found correct, his case falls under Clause (a). The respondent is, therefore, directed to entertain and dispose of the petitioner’s application for correction of date of birth in the passport if he is satisfied that there are no conflicting certificates and the petitioner’s case falls under Clause (a) of the Circular supra. He shall pass appropriate orders and communicate the same to the petitioner within a period of four (4) weeks from the date of receipt of the application from the petitioner. Subject to the above direction, the writ petition is disposed of. As a sequel to disposal of main petition, WPMP No.9686 of 2010 filed by the petitioner for interim relief is disposed of as infructuous. C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY, J Dated 7th April 2010 Note: Issue C.C in one week vrn