Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Sep 09
The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on Wednesday directed passport authorities to consider issuing a fresh passport to a minor student after finding that officials had failed to account for documentary evidence correcting his date of birth.
Justice Sanjay Parihar passed the order on a petition filed by the student through his father.
The student’s passport carried July 12, 2004, as his date of birth, although his school records and other official documents had subsequently been corrected to show May 25, 2008.
The petitioner said the passport was urgently required because he had qualified NEET 2025 and needed to travel abroad to pursue MBBS studies.
Court records showed that the error originated during his school admission and was later reflected in his birth certificate and first passport.
The date of birth was corrected in his school records in 2018.
His Class 10, 11, and 12 certificates, Aadhaar card, and a fresh birth certificate issued in January 2026 all recorded May 25, 2008.
The earlier birth certificate on which the incorrect date was based was subsequently cancelled by the competent authority after verification.
Despite those changes, passport authorities issued a fresh passport retaining the incorrect date.
The student’s later representations seeking correction were not acted upon, prompting him to approach the High Court.
The passport authorities argued that the original passport had been issued on the basis of the birth certificate then available and that the request for correction had been made after a considerable delay.
The court rejected the argument, citing a Ministry of External Affairs circular of November 26, 2015, that provides an exemption for people who were minors when a passport containing an incorrect date of birth was issued.
The court said the passport officer had failed to consider the concession and had overlooked the fact that the petitioner was a minor when his first passport was issued.
It also said authorities could not rely on a birth certificate that had since been cancelled, particularly when other valid documents consistently supported the corrected date of birth.
The court noted that the passport issue could affect the student’s right to free movement because he had secured admission to the International Higher School of Medicine in Bishkek for the 2026-27 academic session.
It directed the passport authorities to consider his application for a fresh passport reflecting the corrected date of birth, based on his matriculation certificate and the court order.
