Dismissed

Peeru Mohammad v. the Secretary

Kerala HC12 Oct 2021WP(C)/4051/2021

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

High Court Bench dismissed a petition seeking to correct the petitioner's passport date of birth by eight years. The court held that correction powers must be exercised within a reasonable time for bona fide mistakes, finding the delayed claim suspect due to lack of explanation.

What did the court decide?

The writ petition for direction to correct the date of birth in the passport is dismissed.

Peeru Mohammad Vs the Secretary — Writ and Judicial Review | Kerala HC (2021)

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

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PRESENT

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THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BECHU KURIAN THOMAS

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TUESDAY, THE 12^TH DAY OF OCTOBER 2021 / 20TH ASWINA, 1943

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WP(C) NO. 4051 OF 2021

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PETITIONER:

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PEERU MOHAMMAD AGED 44 YEARS S/O. MYTHEEN KANNU, VENCHAMPI KAILAYATHU VEEDU, AZHIKKODU, ARUVIKKARA, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

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BY ADV T.K.ANANDA KRISHNAN

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RESPONDENTS:

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1 THE SECRETARY MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, SOUTH BLOCK, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, NEW DELHI 110 001

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2 THE REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICER TRIVANDRUM PASSPORT OFFICER, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

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BY ADV SHRI.P.VIJAYAKUMAR, ASG OF INDIA

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THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 12.10.2021, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:

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WP(C) No. 4051 of 2021

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BECHU KURIAN THOMAS, J.

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WP(C) No. 4051 of 2021

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Dated this the 12^th day of October, 2021

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JUDGMENT

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Petitioner seeks for a direction to correct his date of birth in the passport from 21.05.1968 to 10.05.1976.

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Admittedly, petitioners passport bears a date of birth different from his school admission register. Ext.P2 school admission register shows the date of birth as 10.05.1976, while the passport issued on 27.09.2018 shows the date of birth as 21.05.1968. petitioner admists that he had been working abroad for the last several years.

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Though petitioner has not specifically stated the date he had obtained his first passport, it is seen from the statement of the respondent that there was a re-issue of passport on 25.09.2003 which obviously indicates the existence of a passport even prior to 2003. Thus, what transpires from the pleadings of the petitioner as well as the

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WP(C) No. 4051 of 2021

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respondents, is that petitioner had been enjoying a passport with the date of birth as 27.05.1968 for several years. After decades, petitioner now seeks to correct the date of birth that too, by a difference of eight years.

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The records relating to the date of birth of the petitioner have been in his possession for long. The passport with the alleged incorrect date of birth was always known and in the possession of the petitioner from the time of its issue. Though petitioner claims that he was not aware about the mistake in the date of birth as well as the documents showing his correct date of birth, the said submission cannot be accepted without a pinch of salt.

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Several years have elapsed since petitioner came into possession of his passport. No explanation is forthcoming on how and in what manner the initial declaration was made specifying the date of birth of the petitioner as 25.07.1968 and the reason why a change is suddenly sought. The belated request creates doubt in the mind of the Court on the bonafides of the claim.

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WP(C) No. 4051 of 2021

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This Court had in the decision in Jayakumar V.

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Regional Passport Officer (2015 (3) KLT 158) as well as the division bench judgment of this Court in Vasu Sasi

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V. Union of India (2020 (4) KHC 405) held that the power to correct the mistakes in date of birth must be exercised when there is a bonafide mistake and that too, within a reasonable time. The circumstances existing in the case does not reveal such a bonafide mistake having been committed and that too, when the date of birth sought to be corrected as 10.05.1976.

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In the aforesaid circumstances, I find no reason to correct any such correction in the date of birth as sought for.

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Accordingly, the writ petition is dismissed.

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Sd/BECHU KURIAN THOMAS JUDGE

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AJ/12.10.2021

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WP(C) No. 4051 of 2021

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APPENDIX OF WP(C) 4051/2021

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PETITIONER EXHIBITS

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EXHIBIT P1 A TRUE COPY OF THE RELEVANT PAGES OF THE PASSPORT BEARING NO. S 5158831 OF THE PETITIONER. EXHIBIT P2 THE TRUE COPY OF THE EXTRACT OF THE SCHOOL ADMISSION REGISTER EXHIBIT P3 THE TRUE COPY OF THE RECEIPT RECEIVED FOR FILING ONLINE APPLICATION FOR CORRECTING THE DATE OF BIRTH OF THE PETITIONER DATED 18-03-2020

Peeru Mohammad v. the Secretary

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Peeru Mohammad v. the Secretary

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

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