5 hours Ago
JAIPUR: Authorities cannot deny renewal of a passport solely on the basis of a negative police verification report without vetting antecedents of the applicant, Rajasthan HC ruled and ordered the issue of a new passport to a 33-year-old woman within eight weeks. Police report claimed Savitri Sharma's nationality was doubtful, but passport authorities failed to provide any evidence to prove that applicant is not an Indian national . "An adverse passport verification report does not disentitle a citizen from legal right to have a passport.
It is for passport authorities to take into consideration facts and antecedents of the person who has applied for issuance of passport," Justice Anoop Dhand said in his Nov 14 order that was uploaded on Tuesday. Petitioner's counsel Abhinav Bhandari told TOI, "Sharma is an Indian national. Her first passport lapsed on May 16, 2022.
When she filed an application for renewal, it was turned down.".
