Minor's right to hold passport can't be taken away due to dispute between parents: HC

MUMBAI: A minor's right to obtain a passport and travel abroad cannot be taken away merely due to an ongoing matrimonial dispute between parents, the Bombay High Court has said.

The court in its order passed on Wednesday, a copy of which was made available on Thursday, directed the Pune Regional Passport Office (RPO) to issue a passport to the 17-year-old girl within two weeks, observing that the right to travel abroad was a facet of the fundamental right guaranteed in the Constitution.

The RPO had issued a communication to the girl's mother in November 2024, stating that her passport application would not be processed as her father had objected to the same.

As per the plea, the girl's parents are embroiled in divorce proceedings.

In response to the passport office's communication, the girl's mother sent a declaration that the father's consent was missing in the passport issuance form as there was a matrimonial dispute between the couple.

The high court said in its judgment that the valuable constitutional right of the petitioner girl cannot be prejudiced, much less be taken away, merely on a communication issued by her father refusing to give his No Objection Certificate (NOC).

It said the minor girl was living with her mother and is a bright student having secured outstanding marks in her Class 10 examination.

These marks have made her eligible to be selected to participate in a study tour to Japan, being undertaken by her school, the HC added.

"In these circumstances, in our opinion, it cannot be that the petitioner's (girl) right to travel abroad by issuance of a passport can in any manner be scuttled and/or taken away by denying her a passport to be issued/re-issued merely for the reason that the father for the only reason that he has disputes with the mother, is not supporting the petitioner's application by consenting to it," it said.

The court said "personal liberty" as mentioned under Article 21 of the Constitution includes the right to travel abroad and "no person can be deprived of that right except according to the procedure established in law."

"The procedure prescribed by law has to be fair, just and reasonable, not fanciful, oppressive or arbitrary. The right to travel abroad is a facet of fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India," the high court said.

The court observed that in contemporary times traveling abroad cannot be considered to be a fanciful affair but has become an essential requirement of modern life.

"Such a need to travel which may be the requirement of a child, a student or an employee, professional or a person from any other strata of the society, has undergone a monumental change. Thus, the right to travel is required to be not only recognised but made more meaningful," the high court said.

The division bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Advaith Sethna also pulled up the passport authority for adopting a mechanical approach in such cases.

The bench said the provisions of the Passports Act has to be implemented by effectively recognising contemporary needs.

It said that in the present case, the girl has been given an opportunity to undertake a study tour in a foreign country.

Any action of the Passport Authority in denying the passport would have severe consequences not only adversely affecting the applicant in a given situation, but it may cause irreparable harm to the prospects of the applicant, for any venture she or he intended to undertake, the HC said.

"Thus, a mechanical approach in this regard by the passport authority cannot be countenanced," it noted.

It added that the girl's mother had submitted a declaration which has to be now considered and processed by the passport authority.

The bench noted that the entire purpose of inviting a declaration under the provisions of the Passports Act becomes relevant in cases where there exists disputes between the parents of a minor applying for a passport.

The court also said that the girl's father has not obtained any order from any court that the petitioner or the petitioner's mother ought not to pursue any application for issuance/re-issuance of passport to the petitioner.

Also, except for stating that he refuses NOC, the petitioner's father has not made out any legal, valid or justifiable ground before the passport authority which could justify denial of the issuance of passport to the petitioner, the HC said.