Rs 2L fine slapped on passport office in Karnataka's Hubbali for service deficiency

Dharwad: The District Consumer Grievances Redressal Commission has imposed a penalty of Rs 2 lakh on the passport office in Hubballi for mistakenly stamping ‘cancellation’ on a valid passport.

Pankesh Jain, a resident and businessman from Hubballi’s Keshwapur, planned a trip to Dubai with his wife and two minor children and purchased flight tickets.

He had prepared passports for himself and his wife, and applied for passports for his children at the Hubballi Passport Office.During verification, the office took his passport, and when issuing the children’s passports, mistakenly stamped “cancellation” on his passport, which he did not notice.

As scheduled, Pankesh went to Mumbai Airport with his family for their Dubai trip. During inspection, the cancellation stamp on his passport was found, and he was denied boarding.

Realising the error, he contacted his relatives in Hubballi, who informed the passport office.

The department admitted to their mistake and corrected the passport by contacting the Mumbai office. This correction cost Pankesh Rs 11,000, and their trip was postponed by a day.

Due to the cancellation, Jain incurred additional expenses for accommodation in Mumbai and lost two days of their planned Dubai stay. Pankesh filed a complaint with the Dharwad District Consumer Commission seeking Rs 25 lakh in compensation for service deficiency from the passport office.

The respondents argued that under Section 16 of the Passport Act, no action could be taken against department officials for any deficiency in passport issuance.

However, after thorough examination, Commission Chairman Eshappa Bhute and member Vishalakshi Bolashetti found the cancellation stamp on Pankesh’s valid passport was a departmental error, causing the trip to be postponed by a day.

The initial flight ticket became unusable, and additional expenses were incurred for a new ticket and passport correction, totaling Rs 11,000, along with accommodation and other costs.

The commission dismissed the respondents’ objections and ruled that the passport department was responsible for the service deficiency.

It directed the department to compensate Pankesh with Rs 2 lakh, including Rs 62,876 for additional flight ticket costs, Rs 11,000 for passport correction, inconvenience, and one day’s accommodation expenses, along with Rs 10,000 for case expenses.