The specific provisions of the Passports Act and its Rules prescribing methods of attestation override the general provisions of the Notaries Act, and a Notary is not permitted to attest photographs for the purposes of the Passports Act.

1. Petitioner is an advocate. He is also a Notary Public appointed as such for a period of three years from 11-3-1985 under S.3 of the Notaries Act, 53 of 1952, hereinafter referred to as the Act. As per S.8 of the Act the petitioner is entitled inter alia to verify, authenticate, certify or attest the execution of any instrument. An instrument is defined in S.2(b) as including every document by which any right or liability is. or purported to be, created, transferred, modified, limited, extended, suspended, extinguished or recorded. I must also mention here that as per S.6 of the Act, the Central Government and every State Government, should, during the month of January each year publish in the official gazette a list of Notaries appointed by the Government.

2. Petitioner's grievance is in relation to the refusal by the 4th respondent, the Regional Passport Officer at Cochin, to accept photographs certified by the petitioner for purposes of applications under the Passports Act 15 of 1967. Petitioner alleges that the 4th respondent was accepting such photographs certified by the petitioner as valid, but that recently he has shifted his stand and returned such applications accompanied by photographs certified by the petitioner, with the remark that the photographs should be certified not by a Notary but by a gazetted officer. Petitioner's contention is that, as a Notary appointed under the Act, S.8 enables him to certify the photographs for purposes of the Passports Act, inasmuch as such photographs constitute "instrument" as defined in S.2 (b) of the Act. He also contends that even if the view taken by the 4th respondent is correct that the certification should be by a gazetted officer, a Notary appointed under the Act is a Gazetted officer, inasmuch as a list of Notaries is published, under S.6, in the official Gazette. For this latter proposition, be places reliance on the comment in Moolchand M. Gupta's Commentaries on Laws relating to Notaries in India where the learned author observes thus at page 7:

"Gazetted Officer. Since the appointment and removal of a Notary are published in the official Gazette of the Government there seems no valid reason as to why a Notary may not be deemed or treated as Gazetted Officer, in absence of any specific definition of Gazetted Officer."

3. The Law Society of India which claims to be interested in the result of this original petition has also applied for being impleaded, inasmuch as the interests of Advocates and Notaries are involved in this original petition.

4. The 4th respondent Passport Officer refutes the claims made by the petitioner. Inter alia it is pointed out that be has to act as per the provisions of the Passports Act, and the Rules framed thereunder. As per the Passports (Second Amendment) R.1985, every application for passport has to be accompanied by 5 copies of photographs of the size mentioned, showing the frontal view of the full face, against light background, of the applicant. Al) the copies of the photographs should be endorsed on the back "true likeness of..." and attested by a "Station House Officer, a Gazetted Officer of a State or Central Government or Magistrate". The Rules do not permit attestation by a Notary, and have prescribed that the attestation should be done only by the categories of officers mentioned. The 4th respondent who is bound by these Rules has therefore to insist on attestation by one or other of these officers and cannot accept applications with photographs attested by a Notary Public, since that is not warranted by the Rules. It is also stated that the photograph accompanying an application for passport is not an "instrument" and hence the question of a Notary attesting it does not arise. It is submitted that even if a Notary, is entitled to attest such a document, that cannot avail for the purpose of the Passports Act when there is specific provision prescribing the mode of attestation.

5. The 4th respondent contends also that be