THE HON’BLE Ms. JUSTICE G. ROHINI WRIT PETITION No.15147 OF 2010 Dated: 30.06.2010 Between : Mohd. Fakhruddin Ali Khan … Petitioner And The Regional Passport Officer, Regional Passport Office, Near Clock Tower, Secunderabad. … Respondent THE HON’BLE Ms. JUSTICE G. ROHINI WRIT PETITION No.15147 OF 2010 ORDER : The petitioner was issued Passport No.E5883363 on 14.07.2003. However, it was found that his name was wrongly mentioned in the passport as ‘Mohd. Fakhruddi Ali Khan instead of ‘Mohd. Fakhruddin Ali Khan’. Similarly the date of birth was wrongly entered as 28.03.1985 instead of 27.03.1985. In the circumstances, the petitioner having paid a sum of Rs.1,000/- towards rectification charges, approached the respondent with a request to make the corrections enclosing the documentary evidence, particularly the Secondary School Certificate to show his correct date of birth as well as his name as Mohd. Fakhruddin Ali Khan. Aggrieved by the inaction on the part of the respondent in entertaining his request, the present writ petition has been 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. It is also relevant to note that a declaration from a competent Court of jurisdiction 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 for correction of entries in his passport and pass appropriate orders in terms of the above order. Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, the Writ Petition is disposed of granting liberty to the petitioner to submit his application along with all the relevant supporting material within a period of two weeks from the date of receipt of this order. 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 two weeks thereafter. No costs. ______________ G. ROHINI, J. Dt. 30.06.2010 gbs