( 1 ) RULE. Mr. Jitendra Malkan, learned Assistant solicitor General of India, waives service for the respondent. All these petitions are voicing the same or similar grievance and seeking similar relief of direction to the Regional passport Officer to, in effect, amend the passport so as to incorporate the correct date of birth. There was a limited consensus that detailed examination and narration of facts of each petition was not required and the legal issue involved in the matter was squarely covered by the judgment dated 24. 2. 2006 of this court (Coram: M. R. Shah, J.) in Special Civil application No. 2716 of 2006 and allied matters, wherein important observations, as under, are made:" (7 ). . . . . Therefore, this Court fails to appreciate that why such order of this court requires to be obtained by the petitioner/s herein and/or any of applicant or the person who wants to have necessary correction in the passport in the date of birth and/or the place of birth on the basis of the certificate issued by the competent authority under the provisions of the Births and Deaths registration Act and to obtain the simple order by this Court merely directing the passport authority to look into the same and to pass the order in accordance with law. . . . . . . This Court is of the firm opinion that for the aforesaid relief when the passport authority itself is correcting the date of birth and/or place and looking into the supporting documents in accordance with law, such petitions are not warranted as the passport authority itself has to undertake such an exercise. . . . . . . "" (9) At this stage, learned advocates appearing on behalf of the Passport authority have relied upon the instructions issued by the Ministry of external Affairs vide No. VI/401/2/5/2001 dated 18. 4. 2001 which reads as under: " (a)Where an applicant is seeking rectification / correction of a mistake in the entry on date of birth / place of birth in the passport, PIA may after verifying / satisfying himself, affect the correction treating the same as a technical correction. There is no need for a declaratory order in such cases. (b) Where a competent authority issuing a birth certificate or an educational board registering a date of birth along with place of birth as valid were to issue any correction or amendment, PIA may affect the necessary amendment in a passport without insisting on a court order. As per the provisions of Section-21 of the General Clauses Act, 1997, a competent authority issuing a certificate could also make necessary amendment to the same. (c) Where the initial entry has been made on the basis of a supportive document issued by one competent authority i. e. a school / educational authority and the applicant subsequently requests for a change on the basis of a certificate issued by another competent authority i. e Municipal authorities resulting in conflicting sources of valid proof, the PIA should direct the applicant to obtain a civil order from a competent court of jurisdiction, certifying the valid date of birth / place of birth. "

( 2 ) THE relevant observations of the Division bench of the Bombay High Court in JIGAR HARISH shah V. UNION OF INDIA AND ANOTHER [air 2001 bombay 60] are quoted in the aforesaid judgment as under:-"we, therefore, instead of issuing a direction to the Judicial Magistrate in this matter, direct the Passport authority itself to hold an enquiry on hearing the petitioner in relation to the petitioner s claim about his correct date of birth and in case the Passport authority is satisfied with regard to the claim put forth by the petitioner, we further order it to effect the necessary change in the Passport issued in favour of the petitioner. "it is ultimately held that:". . . . . However, in a case where initial entry has been made on the basis of a supportive document issued by one competent authority i. e. a school / educational authority and the applicant subsequently requests for a change on the basis of a c

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