Prayagraj, Allahabad High Court, in an order, has directed that all police verification reports for passport applications must be completed and submitted within four weeks.
A two-judge bench, comprising Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Swarupama Chaturvedi, passed the above direction, hearing a writ petition filed by one Rahimuddin and observed that the passport delay is a hurdle to the right to travel.
The bench referred to the Citizen's Charter issued by the Ministry of External Affairs . The court highlighted that while an ordinary passport is expected to be issued within 30 working days and reissued within seven working days, both timelines exclude the period taken for police verification.
"This shows that the MEA's expected timeline does not stipulate any limit for the police verification stage," added the court.
Against this backdrop, the court emphasised that the police department shall ensure that all verification files pertaining to passport applications are processed with due diligence and completed within four weeks without undue delay .
"Any delay in such administrative functions should be strictly avoided unless justified by exceptional circumstances. Delaying in police verification, which is an essential exercise for an accused is creating hurdle in realisation of the right to travel, especially in cases where reissuance of the passport is for a duration of one year", the court further remarked.
In its order to streamline the entire process of issuance of a passport, the court directed that if a candidate finds the disposal of their applications to be delayed, he or she should first reply to the notice. If they find that their application for a passport has remained pending due to their implication in a criminal case, they should first apply for the necessary no objection/sanction/approval from the court concerned or the criminal law court, as the case may be.
{{/usCountry}}In its order to streamline the entire process of issuance of a passport, the court directed that if a candidate finds the disposal of their applications to be delayed, he or she should first reply to the notice. If they find that their application for a passport has remained pending due to their implication in a criminal case, they should first apply for the necessary no objection/sanction/approval from the court concerned or the criminal law court, as the case may be.
{{/usCountry}}The passport office should also not linger on their matters, as there may be an urgency for a passport applicant. The concerned Regional Passport Officer, in all circumstances where a passport cannot be issued, must inform the applicant regarding it within a month of submission of the passport application.
As soon as proper, no objection/sanction/approval is obtained and submitted, such officer should dispose of the passport application finally within a further period of a month, the court added.
However, the court made it clear that the police, in cases of applications submitted for passports, must submit their report within four weeks without undue delay.
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