Lok Sabha Question No. 2425 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-01
Subject: Police Verification
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: KIRIT SOMAIYA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2425

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.08.2018

## POLICE VERIFICATION

## 2425. SHRI KIRIT SOMAIYA:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether her Ministry along with the Ministry of Home Affairs has taken   measures   to   ease   the   procedure   to   issue   passport,   police verification, reissue of passport, etc. and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the condition to have police verification prior to issue of new passport or reissue has been withdrawn or simplified and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether by developing a new procedure with the support from the Ministry   of   Home   Affairs,   the   Government   wants   to   remove   the formalities of police verification, NOC, etc. or simplify the same; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS [GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD)]

(a) Yes. The Ministry has eased the passport issuing process and has made it an online procedure including getting appointments for submission of documents for passports. Effective technical infrastructure is in place to ensure that the Passport Seva system is available for access at all times from   any   location.   The   Passport   Portal   (www.passportindia.gov.in)   is accessible to anyone, anywhere and anytime. With a view to address the challenge of digital divide, especially in the rural hinterland, the Ministry in association with CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd. (which is promoted by the Department of Electronics and IT), has facilitated online filing of passport applications, through the vast network of Common Service Centres (CSCs) across rural hinterland.

An applicant can now apply for a passport from anywhere in India. But Police verification would be conducted by the Police Station in whose jurisdiction the address mentioned in the form falls and the passport will also be dispatched at the same address.

mPassport   Seva   mobile   app   launched   on   26.06.2018   enables   to apply, pay and schedule appointments for passport services. This App is available in Android and iOS platforms. It also provides passport related information   including   Passport   Kendra   locator,   applicable   fees,   mode   of submission, and tracking of passport application status on smart phones. Citizens would not require access to only a computer and printer to apply for passport services.

Securing online appointments for submission of passport applications at Passport Kendra has been simplified. The current provision is allowing applicants to choose any appointment date from the earliest five available dates   (working   days)   for   scheduling/rescheduling   an   appointment   for passport   related   services.   Earlier,   the   System   used   to   offer   only   one available date to the applicant for seeking appointment for passport

related services. The   Ministry   has   expanded   the   outreach   by   opening   Passport Kendras. At present, 308 Passport Kendras are operating across the country as extended arms of the 36 Passport Offices. The passport rules have also been simplified to make it easier for the citizens to get passports. This is at Annexure-I . (b) to (d) The Ministry does not intend to do away with police verification for     passports.   However,  the   Ministry   has   taken   a   number   of   following innovative measures to minimize the delay in completing police verification process: i. By digitally integrating District Police Headquarters (DPHQS) with the PSP. ii. The Ministry   has   launched   the   mPassport   Police   App   for   speedy submission   of   Police   Verification   Report   (PVR).   The   App   would facilitate the field level verification officers to directly capture the PVR into the system digitally. With the launch of this App, the need to download and print the physical Personal Particular Form and Questionnaire would no longer be required   resulting   in   paperless   end-to-end   digital   flow   of   the   Police Verification process, further reducing the time required for completion of PVR.

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## ANNEXURE-I Simplification of Passport Rules

In order to streamline, liberalize and ease the process of issue of passport, the Ministry of External Affairs has taken a number of steps in the realm of passport policy to ease the process of issue of passports. The details of these steps are given below:-

- A. Documents in support of proof of Date of Birth

As per the extant statutory provisions of the Passport Rules, 1980, all the applicants born on or after 26/01/1989, in order to get a passport, had to, hitherto, mandatorily submit the Birth Certificate   as   the   proof   of   Date   of   Birth   (DOB).   It   has   now   been   decided   that   all applicants of passports can submit any one of the following documents as the proof of DOB while submitting the passport application:

(i) Birth Certificate (BC) issued by the Registrar of Births & Deaths or the Municipal Corporation or   any   other   prescribed   authority   whosoever   has   been   empowered   under   the Registration of Birth & Deaths Act, 1969 to register the birth of a child born in India;

(ii) Transfer/School   leaving/Matriculation   Certificate   issued   by   the school   last attended/recognized educational board containing the DOB of the applicant;

(iii) PAN Card issued by the Income Tax Department with the DOB of applicant;

(iv) Aadhaar Card/e-Aadhaar having the DOB of applicant;

(v) Copy   of   the   extract   of   the   service   record   of   the   applicant   (only   in   respect   of Government servants) or the Pay Pension Order (in respect of retired Government Servants), duly   attested/certified   by   the   officer/in-charge   of   the   Administration   of   the   concerned Ministry/Department of the applicant, having his DOB;

(vi) Driving license issued by the Transport Department of concerned State Government, having the DOB of applicant;

(vii) Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) issued by the Election Commission of India having the DOB of applicant;

(viii) Policy Bond issued by the Public Life Insurance Corporations/Companies having the DOB of the holder of the insurance policy.

- B. Other Changes:

(i) The online passport application form now requires the applicant to provide the name of father or mother or legal guardian, i.e., only one parent and not both. This would enable single parents to apply for passports for their children and to also issue passports where the name of either the father or the mother is not required to be printed at the request of the applicant.

(ii) The total number of Annexes prescribed in the Passport Rule, 1980, has been reduced to 9 from the present 15. Annexes A, C, D, E, J, and K have been removed and certain Annexes have been merged.

(iii) All the annexes that are required to be given by the applicants would be in the form of a self declaration on a plain paper. No attestation/swearing by/ before any Notary/ Executive Magistrate/ First Class Judicial Magistrate would be henceforth necessary.

(iv) Married applicants would not be required to provide the erstwhile Annexure K or any marriage certificate.

(v) The passport application form does not require the applicant to provide the name of her/his spouse in case of separated or divorced persons. Such applicants for passports would not be required to provide even the Divorce Decree.

(vi) In case of children not born out of wedlock, the applicant for the passport of such children should submit only extant Annexure C while submitting the passport application.

(vii) In case of issue of passport to in-country domestically adopted children, submission of the registered adoption deed would no longer be required. In the absence of any deed to this effect, the passport applicant may give a declaration on a plain paper confirming the adoption.

(viii) Government  servants,   who   are   not   able   to   obtain   the   Identity   Certificate   (extant Annexure-A)/ No-Objection Certificate (extant Annexure-G) from their concerned employer and intend to get the passport on urgent basis can now get the passport by submitting a selfdeclaration in extant Annexure-'H' that he/she has given prior Intimation Letter to his/her employer informing that he/she was applying for an ordinary passport to a Passport Issuing Authority.

(ix) Sadhus/   Sanyasis   can   apply   for   a   passport   with   the   name   of   their   spiritual   Guru mentioned in the passport application in lieu of their biological parent(s) name(s) subject to their providing of at least one public document such as Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) issued by the Election Commission of India, PAN card, Aadhaar Card, etc wherein the name of the Guru has been recorded against the column(s) for parent(s) name(s).

(x) Orphaned children who do not have any proof of DOB such as Birth Certificate or the Matriculation Certificate or the declaratory Court order, may now submit a declaration given by the Head of the Orphanage/Child Care Home on their official letter head of the organization confirming the DOB of the applicant.

(xi) An applicant for a passport has to submit any one of the documents as mentioned in (A) above as proof of Date of Birth (DOB) while submitting the passport application.

(xii) Passports  can   be   now   obtained   under   the   'Tatkaal'  Scheme   without   providing   the Verification Certificate from a Gazetted Officer, which was required earlier. The documents to be submitted for getting a passport under this Scheme have been notified vide G.S.R. 39(E) dated 18 January, 2018 and O.M. No. VI/401/1/4/2013 dated 23 March 2018 read with O.M. of even number dated 17 April 2018. Applicants may submit minimum three out of the following documents for obtaining passport:

(a) Aadhaar Card (b) Electors Photo Identify Card (EPIC) (c) Service Photo Identity Card issued by State or Central Govemment, Public Sector Undertaking, local bodies or Public Limited Companies; (d) Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribes/Other Backward Class Certificate; (e) Arms License; (f) Pension Document such as Ex-servicemen's Pension Book or Pension Payment order, ex-servicemen's widow or dependent Certificate, Old Age pension Order; (g) Self-Passport (unrevoked and undamaged): (h) Permanent Account Number (PAN) Card; (i) Bank/Kisan/Post Office Passbook; (j) Student Photo Identity Card issued by an Educational Institution; (k) Driving  License   (valid   and   within   the   jurisdiction   of   State   of   submission   of applicant); (l) Birth Certificate issued under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act; and (m) Ration Card

(xiii) Now Passports can also be obtained under the Normal scheme on out-of-turn post-Police Verification basis without paying any additional fees on the submission of minimum three documents mentioned in para-xii.

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