There is no legal requirement for insisting upon the father's name in the passport and the software requirement is not a legal necessity.

SANJEEV SACHDEVA, J.

1. The petitioner seeks a mandamus directing the respondent to issue/renew the passport of the petitioner. The petitioner had applied for a passport after the divorce of his parents. It is contended that the ground for divorce was desertion and neglect by the father.

2. On 27.06.2007, first passport was issued to the petitioner. In the Column of biological father, no name is mentioned. The passport mentions “NIL”. The passport was valid upto 26.06.2017.

3. The petitioner has taken admission in the course of Master of Information Systems in Australia. The session commenced on 27.07.2015 and ends on 30.06.2017. Since the passport of the petitioner originally issued expires before the conclusion of the said course, the petitioner applied for renewal /issuance of a fresh passport. In the application form submitted for renewal of the passport, the petitioner has once again, in the column of father’s name, entered “NIL”. Instead of issuing a fresh passport, the respondent cancelled the earlier passport and have refused to issue a fresh passport on the ground that it is mandatory to mention the biological father in the family details.

4. Two contentions are raised by the respondent in the affidavit filed. Firstly, it is contended that the software of the respondent does not permit acceptance of an application without disclosing the father’s name and secondly in terms of Chapter 8, Clause IV (4.5) of the Passport Manual, it is mandatory to mention the name of both the parents in passport. It is contended that the deletion of the parents’ name from the passport consequent to divorce is not permissible since the decree of divorce results in severance of the status of husband -wife but does not severe the relationship between the child and parents unless the parents has legally disowned the child.

5. The contentions raised by the respondent have been dealt with by a coordinate bench of this Court vide Judgment dated 17.05.2016 in WP (C) No. 155/2016 titled Shalu Nigam & Anr. Vs. The Regional Passport Officer & Anr.

6. In my view the judgment squarely covers the case of the petitioner. Identical contentions, as are being raised in the counter affidavit were raised in that petition. Learned Judge in the said judgment has held as under:-

"11. This Court is of the opinion that the respondents can insist upon the name of the biological father in the Passport only if it is a requirement in law, like standing instructions, manuals etc. In the absence of any provision making it mandatory to mention the name of one's biological father in the Passport, the respondents cannot insist upon the same.

12. In the present case, there is no legal requirement for insisting upon the father's name. Respondents' reliance on Clause 4.5 of Chapter 8 of Passport Manual 2010 is misplaced as the said Chapter deals with "change in entries in passport." It does not pertain to entries to be made in the first instance. Consequently, Clause 4.5 of Chapter 8 is not applicable to the present case.

13. In fact, a Coordinate Bench of this Court in Ishmaan Vs. Regional Passport Office, W.P. (C) No. 5100/2010 decided on 21st February, 2011 directed issuance of a passport to an applicant without mentioning her father's name on the ground that the instructions issued by the respondent itself permitted mentioning of only mother's name in the passport. The relevant portion of the said order is reproduced herein-below:-

"4. The Respondents have themselves enclosed another set of instructions in a reference letter (Annexure R-2) issued on 21st April 1999. Clause 3.2(a) thereof reads as under:-

"3.2 Child born out of wedlock or child having single parent (Reference letter No. V.I/402/2/1/97 dated 21.4.1999).

(a) Cases where:- (i) the mother who is an Indian citizen, claims that the biological father had no contact with the mother or the child after the child's birth; or where (ii) the child's father is either unknown (for example a child born after a rape etc.) o