The Jabalpur Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled that passports for minor children can be renewed without the father’s consent if no prohibitory order exists from a competent court. Justice Vinay Saraf referred to the Passport Rules, emphasizing that a parent can apply for a child’s passport renewal using Annexure C if there is no court order barring issuance without the other parent’s consent.
Legal Issue Clarified
The court clarified that the Passport Rules do not mandate the father’s consent for renewing a minor’s passport unless a court order explicitly prohibits it. No additional court permission is needed in the absence of such an order.
Case Background
Actor Nitish Bharadwaj’s minor daughters had applied for passport renewal through their mother. However, Bharadwaj objected, citing ongoing custody and divorce proceedings. The Passport Office asked the mother to obtain court permission, prompting her to file the petition.
Right to Passport Upheld
The mother argued that every citizen has a fundamental right to a passport under Article 21. The children needed valid passports to attend events in the UK, but their current passports were expiring.
The father claimed the application was based on false documents and raised concerns about custody. However, the court deemed these matters irrelevant to the issue of passport renewal.
Court’s Decision
The High Court quashed the Passport Office’s communication and directed it to renew the minors’ passports. The court left other custody-related issues to the Family Court in Mumbai.
