The Kerala High Court has clearly stated that the directions or guidelines for issuing passports, whether in India or abroad, have to comply with the Passport Act, 1967 and its rules. These guidelines cannot have more power than law.
This important judgment was pronounced by Justice Mohammed Niyas C.P. while hearing a writ petition. The petitioner had approached the court seeking a direction to the Regional Passport Office, Cochin to re-issue his passport with the correct date of birth as per his birth certificate.
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According to the petitioner, his application (Exhibit P16) was rejected by the authorities. They asked her to correct the date of birth in her service records before acting on her request for re-issue of passport. However, as per the Government Order (Exhibit P11), correction in service records was permissible only within five years of joining the service or within one year of the said order. Since this time had already elapsed, she could not comply with that condition.
The petitioner also pointed out that the Passport (Amendment) Rules, 2025 (Exhibit P15) clearly permit filing of an affidavit stating the reason for change of date of birth. Therefore, she argued that the insistence of the authorities on correcting service records is against the statutory law.
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While deciding the case, the Court cited the Supreme Court's judgment in State of Madhya Pradesh vs. Narmada Bachao Andolan and its own judgment of the Kerala High Court in Sulfikar vs. Kerala State Election Commission to explain the "doctrine of impossibility".
“…when it appears that the observance of the formalities prescribed by a statute has become impossible due to circumstances over which the persons concerned had no control, such as by the grace of God, the circumstances will be treated as a valid excuse… …Thus, insistence on a condition which is incapable of performance cannot be accepted.”
Applying this principle, the Court held that since it is no longer possible for the petitioner to amend his service record due to the expiry of the time allowed, he should be exempted from doing so. The Court further clarified:
“There is no statutory provision which requires correction of service record for changing the date of birth in the passport of a Government servant.”
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Therefore, the Court held that a collection of instructions/guidelines regarding issuance of passports cannot override the Passport Act, 1967 or any rule thereunder or any statutory instrument.
As a result, the Court allowed the petition and directed the Regional Passport Office, Cochin to process the petitioner's application (Exhibit P16) in accordance with the Passport (Amendment) Rules, 2025.
Case No: WP(C) No. 17195 of 2025
Case Title: Josna Raphael Poovathingal v. Union of India and others
Counsels for the Petitioner: K.R. Ganesh, Elvin Peter P.J. (Sr.), Ahsana E., Adarsh Babu C.S.
Counsels for the Respondents: C. Dinesh, CGC
