1. By this petition filed under Art.226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners seek the following reliefs:
(i) A writ of mandamus commanding the respondents to issue a fresh passport in favour of petitioner No. 2, in respect of application File No. JM1066482672222, he being a citizen of India;
(ii) A writ of mandamus commanding the respondents not to insist on mentioning the father's name on the passport of petitioner No. 2;
(iii) Quashing of the show cause notice dated 13.01.2023 issued by respondent No. 1 to petitioner No. 2, being arbitrary and illegal;
(iv) An award of costs by way of compensation and legal expenses to the petitioners for the inordinate delay in processing Passport Application File No. JM1066482672222, filed on behalf of petitioner No. 2;
(v) Any other appropriate relief which this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case.

2. Factual Matrix
Petitioner No. 1, being the mother and legal guardian of petitioner No. 2, who is a minor aged 10 years, applied for issuance of a fresh passport for her son before the Regional Passport Office, Jammu on 02.06.2022. The said application has remained pending for over nine months. Petitioner No. 1 had obtained a decree of divorce by mutual consent from her former husband, Mr. Gaurav Gupta, vide judgment and order dated 13.09.2021 passed by the Court of the Principal Judge, Family Court, SAS Nagar, Mohali. A certified copy of the said judgment is annexed with this petition. Vide the said judgment, the exclusive custody of the minor child (petitioner No. 2) was granted to the mother (petitioner No. 1). However, despite the decree, the Regional Passport Officer, Jammu initially insisted that both parents must be physically present to process the passport application. A copy of the letter dated 04.07.2022 issued by respondent No. 2 is annexed herewith.

3 Thereafter, by way of emails dated 18.07.2022 and 19.07.2022, the father of petitioner No. 2 conveyed his consent to proceed with the application in his absence. Accordingly, petitioner No. 1 submitted a written request to the Regional Passport Officer, Jammu, seeking to process the pending application without mentioning the father's name. She also submitted an affidavit affirming that the father had no objection to the issuance of a passport to petitioner No. 2 without his name being mentioned.

4. Despite the above, the application continued to be withheld solely on the ground that the father's name had not been mentioned. Petitioner No. 1 further submitted a copy of Press Release dated 23.12.2016 issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, which clarified that only one parent's name (either mother or father or legal guardian) is required. However, the Assistant Passport Officer continued to insist on inclusion of the father's name, disregarding the said Press Release and the applicable rules. Consequently, petitioner No. 1 filed an appeal before the Appellate Authority on 14.12.2022. In response to an RTI application, the Appellate Authority, on 13.01.2023, informed that the case required in - depth examination and simultaneously issued a show cause notice of even date, calling upon petitioner No. 2 to respond.

5. It is submitted that the delay in issuance of passport is arbitrary, unjustified, and based on misinterpretation of the applicable rules and guidelines, causing hardship to the petitioners.

6. In reply to the writ petition, the respondents have filed their objections, wherein it is stated that, in accordance with the Passport Rules and the instructions of the PSP Division of the Ministry of External Affairs dated 13.01.2023, a show cause notice was issued to the petitioners, requiring them to provide the father's consent and his name. It is submitted that, as no response was received from the petitioners, a reminder to the said notice was sent, however, the father's consent has not been provided till date. It is further submitted that, instead of responding to the notice,