THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE NAGESH BHEEMAPAKA WRIT PETITION No.19876 of 2025

ORDER:

1. This Writ Petition is filed challenging the order dated 31.12.2024, issued by the 2^nd respondent, rejecting the petitioner’s request for correction of the date of birth in the passport bearing No.S3375200 from 12.02.1992 to 12.02.1996.

2. Heard Mr. Mohd Ashraf Ali, learned counsel for the petitioner, and learned Standing Counsel for the Central Government for respondent No. 1. Perused the record.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner is an MBBS graduate and is presently practicing as a doctor at Yashoda Hospital, Secunderabad. It is stated that in 2014, petitioner, in order to pursue her MBBS degree, applied for a passport. As proof of address and date of birth, she submitted her SSC certificate and birth certificate. It is stated that her date of birth was wrongly recorded as 12.02.1992 instead of 12.02.1996. However, due to urgency in joining Southeast University, petitioner applied for the passport based on the documents available at that time. Accordingly, Passport No. S3375200 was issued on 19.07.2018, valid until 18.07.2028, with the incorrect date of birth. Thereafter, petitioner left for Nanjing, China, in September 2014 and was expected to return to India after graduation in July 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she could not travel back and returned only in 2022. Subsequently, petitioner filed applications with the Director of Government Exams and the Medical and Health Department, Government of Telangana, for rectification of her date of birth in the SSC certificate and birth certificate, and corrections were duly made by the concerned authorities. Thereafter, petitioner approached the 2^nd respondent seeking reissue of the passport to reflect the corrected date of birth, enclosing the revised SSC certificate and birth certificate as proof. However, the 2nd respondent rejected her application without proper verification of the documents, on the ground that the request for change of date of birth was made after ten years.

Hence, the present Writ Petition.

4. Learned Standing Counsel for the Central Government, referring to Office Memorandum dated 22.09.2016, submitted that correction or change of date of birth in the passport after a period of five (5) years from the date of its issuance is not permissible. It is further submitted that petitioner approached the authorities after a lapse of 10 years and, therefore, her request cannot be considered.

5. Considering the submissions made by both the learned counsel and on perusal of the material on record, it is evident that petitioner’s request for correction of date of birth, made after 10 years from the issuance of the initial passport, is clearly barred under the Office Memorandum dated 22.09.2016, which prohibits such correction beyond five years. Therefore, this Court is of the opinion that the rejection order dated 31.12.2024 issued by the 2^nd respondent is in accordance with the said guidelines and does not suffer from any illegality or arbitrariness.

6. Accordingly, the Writ Petition is dismissed. No order as to costs.

Miscellaneous applications, if any, pending shall stand closed.

____________________________ NAGESH BHEEMAPAKA, J Date: 03.11.2025 dgr