Only in India: Name biological father, passport office tells woman with child out of wedlock

Though the ministry of external affairs had clearly stated on 1 November that unwed mothers in India will not have to name the biological father of their child in passport applications, the passport authorities in Mumbai seem to have created their own parallel rule book. According to reports, the passport authorities in Mumbai have asked a woman to name her daughter’s biological father in the passport, instead of her present husband and the child’s step father. The Times of India reports that the woman, who used to dance in a bar for a living in the past, had a child with a man she had met at the bar. However, the man refused to take responsibility of the child and started avoiding her. The woman later married someone else. The girl was born in 2010. [caption id=“attachment_1800993” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Agencies.[/caption] A report on DNA states that the woman was unaware of the fact that her paramour and the child’s father was already married. However, since she had no choice, she named the same man as the child’s father and her ‘husband’ when the daughter was born. Reports say, when the passport authorities wanted the biological father’s name in the girl’s passport application, she moved a petition asking the authorities to allow her to put in the name of her her present husband and the child’s step-father. However, the passport office has now told the Bombay High Court that she has to name the biological father of her child. The court is scheduled another hearing in the case next week.