The main legal point established is that the birth certificate issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths should prevail over a matriculation certificate in determining the date of birth, and the Passport authority should not routinely direct parties to seek adjudication before civil Courts in situations of conflicting documents.

Rajive Bhalla, J.

1. The petitioner, prays for the issuance of an appropriate writ, order or direction especially in the nature of Certiorari for quashing the order dated 22.8.2007, passed by respondent No. 2, declining to vary/make a correction in the petitioners Passport.

2. The petitioner was issued Passport bearing No. B0886182 on 13.10.1999, valid upto 12.10.2009 showing his date of birth as 23.7.1962. The said entry was made on the basis of an entry in his matriculation certificate. The petitioner applied for permanent immigration to the United States. The US Embassy, New Delhi required the petitioner to submit an authenticated document as to his date of birth. The petitioner, applied for issuance of a birth certificate before the Registrar of Births and Deaths. On receipt of the aforementioned certificate, the petitioner realised that his date of birth, as recorded in the Births and Deaths register was 26.5.1962 and not 23.7.1962, as entered in his matriculation certificate. Consequently, the petitioner applied to the Passport Officer, Jalandhar, for a correction of the entry regarding his date of birth, in his Passport. As the authority failed to decide the application, the petitioner filed CWP No. 10448 of 2007, praying for the issuance of a direction to the Passport authority to decide his application. Vide order dated 17.7.2007, the writ petition was disposed of with a direction to the Passport authority to consider and dispose of the representation dated 1.6.2007, in accordance with law, within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a certified copy of the order.

3. The Passport Officer, Jalandhar, vide order dated 22.8.2007 declined to make any correction in the Passport, on the ground that the entry, of date of birth in the Passport was based upon an entry in the matriculation certificate and, therefore, an alteration could not be affected. The petitioner was advised to approach a competent Court for declaration with respect to his date of birth.

4. Counsel for the petitioner contends that, respondents do not deny that a Passport Officer has jurisdiction to alter/vary and/or make corrections in a Passport. The instructions dated 18.4.2001, issued by the Ministry of External Affairs acknowledge this fact. It is contended that a Passport Officer cannot decline to act, upon a certificate issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths, under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969. An entry of date/place of birth is based upon an entry in the Births and Deaths register, maintained by the Registrar under the aforesaid enactment. It is, therefore, a public record and a presumption of truth attaches thereto.

5. As regards the merits of the case, it is submitted that the petitioner was a minor, when he was admitted to school by his parents. The entry, regarding his date of birth, was wrongly recorded by his parents and, therefore, the corresponding entry in the matriculation certificate is, incorrect. The petitioner applied for a Passport, assuming that the entry in the matriculation certificate was correct. However,as the birth certificate reflects his true date of birth i.e. 26.5.1962, this technical correction, should have been allowed and the petitioner should not have been relegated to seek a declaration from a civil Court.

6. Counsel for the respondents on the other hand submits that respondent No. 2, namely; the Passport authority is bound by the Act, the Rules framed thereunder and the instructions issued by the Ministry of External Affairs from time to time. As per instructions dated 18.4.2001, a Passport Officer is competent to make alterations of a technical nature only. The instructions specifically provide that where an entry is made on the basis of a supporting document issued by one competent authority i.e. school/education authority and the applicant subsequently requests for change, on the basis of a certificate issued by another competent authority i.e. a Municipal Authority, t