Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court recently ruled that a single parent with custody of a minor child can apply for and obtain a passport for the child without requiring the signature or consent of the other parent.
This decision was made by Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya while addressing a petition filed on behalf of a four-year-old girl, represented by her mother.
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or obtains court permission to proceed with the passport application.
Justice Bhattacharya emphasized that imposing such a requirement on the mother was unnecessary, especially since the father had deserted the family and moved to the United States, relinquishing his Indian citizenship.
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He did not contest the mother’s petition, and there is an ongoing divorce case in Hyderabad where he has not sought custody of the child.
The ruling clarified that both the Passport Act of 1967 and the 1980 Passport Rules explicitly allow a single parent with exclusive custody to apply for a passport for their minor child without needing consent from the other parent.
This provision applies even if the parents are separated but not formally divorced. The only requirement is that the custodial parent must provide the necessary information in the designated annexure.
