Karnataka HC directs issuance of short validity passport to five-year-old girl to meet her grandparents in Australia

The right of a minor child to travel, particularly for the purpose of meeting close family members, cannot be curtailed merely because one parent chooses to withhold consent or evade legal process, the court said.

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has directed the passport authorities to issue a short validity passport in favour of a five-year-old girl for a period of eight weeks.

“The right of a minor child to travel, particularly for the purpose of meeting close family members, cannot be curtailed merely because one parent chooses to withhold consent or evade legal process,” Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum observed while allowing the petition filed by the mother of the girl, a resident of Bengaluru.

The girl, through her mother, sought a direction to the passport authorities to process the passport application. The mother has instituted proceedings seeking dissolution of marriage against her husband which is pending before a family court. It was submitted that the child intends to travel to Australia to meet her grandparents during the ensuing summer vacation, and any delay in issuance of passport would prejudice the rights and interests of the minor child.

While notice was served, the father of the child remained unrepresented in the proceedings. On the other hand, the passport authorities contended that in terms of the governing statutory framework, consent of both parents is ordinarily required for issuance of a passport to a minor. The authorities are justified in not processing the application in the absence of such consent from the father, it was submitted.

Justice Magadum accepted the reliance placed in the Allahabad High Court judgement in the Poem Jaiswar v/s Union of India and another case. While interpreting the Passport Rules, the Allahabad High Court had recognised that situations may arise where consent of one parent is not forthcoming due to unavoidable circumstances, and in such contingencies, the rigid insistence on consent of both parents cannot be permitted to defeat the legitimate rights of a minor.

“In the case on hand, the material on record unmistakably indicates subsisting matrimonial discord between the parents. The minor petitioner cannot be made to suffer on account of the acrimony between the spouses. At the same time, the apprehension of respondent No 3–father, though not formally articulated before this court owing to his absence, cannot be completely disregarded,” Justice Magadum said.

Considering that the proposed travel is time-sensitive, the court directed issuance of passport while directing the mother to file an affidavit undertaking that the girl shall return to India within the period stipulated in the passport and shall abide by any further conditions that may be imposed by the Passport Authority.