Udaipur, November 27, 2024 – Rajasthan High Court has issued a directive ruling that the passport officer cannot refuse to issue a passport solely based on a negative police report. The High Court, while making this ruling, stated that in such cases the passport authority must make a decision based on the facts at hand.

The Court granted the passport authority eight weeks to make a decision in petitioner Savitri Sharma's case and said that a passport is the right of every Indian citizen and no one can be deprived of the legal right to renew it.

Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand gave this order while disposing of the petition filed by Sharma. The Court stated that if any adverse findings are made, the Passport Department is legally free to take action.

“An adverse passport verification report does not disentitle a citizen from legal right to have a passport,” said the judge in a November 14 order which was uploaded yesterday. “It is for passport authorities to take into consideration facts and antecedents of the person who has applied for issuance of passport”, said the order.

Advocate Rakesh Chandel said the petitioner had applied for renewal because her passport was  expiring in May 2022. The Passport Office had rejected the application due to a police report citing suspicious activities. The petition sought an order for the renewal of the passport.

The police report had claimed that Sharma’s nationality was doubtful. However, the Passport Department could not prove that the applicant was not an Indian national.

Source: Media Reports