IMPORTANT POINTS
A time frame of 5 years is prescribed for correcting the entries in the passport and since the application submitted by the appellant has exceeded the period fixed in the circular specified above, the Passport Officer cannot correct the passport, and therefore, there is no illegality in the action of the Passport Officer returning the application seeking correction to the appellant.

JUDGMENT :

SHAJI P. CHALY, J.

This appeal is directed against the judgment of the learned Single Judge dated 29.05.2020 in W.P.(C) No. 10610 of 2020, whereby the writ petition was dismissed declining the relief sought for by the writ petitioner for a direction to the Passport Officer, Kollam Passport Seva Kendra, Kollam, to carry out the correction of date of birth of the appellant in the passport.

2. Brief material facts for the disposal of the writ appeal are as follows:

The petitioner is holding an Indian passport bearing No.L 6693000. The last renewal of the passport was during the year 2014 and it is for the period from 20.02.2014 to 19.02.2024. Nowhere in the writ petition, the date of issuance of the passport to the appellant for the first time is mentioned, however to some extent it is discernible from Ext P1 copy of passport. The issue raised by the appellant was that his date of birth is wrongly shown in Ext.P1 passport as 20.01.1959, instead of the actual date of birth of 20.12.1965. It is the case of the appellant/writ petitioner that in all the relevant records, such as birth certificate, matriculation certificate, aadhar card, produced as Exts.P2 to P4, the date of birth is shown as 20.12.1965. According to the appellant, the mistake had occurred due to the incorrect information given by the passport agent of the writ petitioner to the passport authority, or a mistake committed by the passport authority itself. Anyhow, to correct the passport accordingly, the writ petitioner has submitted Ext.P6 application and paid the requisite fee evident from Ext. P5. The Passport Officer, according to the appellant/writ petitioner, after scrutinising the application, has returned the same stating that there is a delay of 6 years in preferring an application for correcting the wrong entry and as per the Passport Manual, 2010, the application for correcting the entry cannot be entertained. The learned Single Judge has dismissed the writ petition holding that during all those years, the appellant, who was aware of the wrong entry of date of birth, has not chosen to make any application for correcting the same. It was also found that by virtue of the circular dated 26.09.2016, a time frame of 5 years is prescribed for correcting the entries in the passport and since the application submitted by the appellant has exceeded the period fixed in the circular specified above, the Passport Officer cannot correct the passport, and therefore, there is no illegality in the action of the Passport Officer returning the application seeking correction to the appellant.

3. The appeal is filed basically contending that the judgment rendered by the learned single Judge is against the proposition of law laid down by a Division Bench of this court in Union of India v. Sunil Kumar [2015 (3) KLT 501 =2015 KHC 3697]) placing reliance on the Passport Manual, 2010, and therefore, the impugned judgment of the learned single Judge is irregular and is liable to be interfered with by this Court exercising the power conferred under Section 5 of the Kerala High Court Act. It is also submitted that the Passport Issuing Authority ought to have proceeded as per the Passport Manual, 2018, whereby the procedure for correction of wrong entry in the passport with regard to the date of birth is prescribed.

4. The sum and substance of the contention put forth by the appellant is that the action of the Passport Officer not following the procedure prescribed by the Government of India in the Manual issued in 2018 is arbitrary and illegal and the learned Single Judge has overlooked the law on the point and therefore, interference is justified in the appeal.

5. The learned Central Government Counsel has produced the office memorandums dated 26.11.2015 and 22.09.2016, which are the guidelines relating to the change/correction of date of birth in the passport. Relying upon the said circulars it is submitted that, going by the procedure prescribed under the notification dated 22.0