Single Delhi mother wins case to get father’s name removed from minor son’s passport

In an unprecedented occurrence, a single mother living in the national capital has won the right of removing the father’s name from her minor son’s passport. Deciding a petition in favour of the single mother, the Delhi High Court recently directed the passport authorities to remove the father’s name from the child’s passport. The woman (mother) in question informed the court that the child was abandoned by his father before his birth and has been raised single-handedly by her. Justice Prathiba M Singh observed this would be a case where the father has completely “deserted the child”. Under the circumstances, the Court cited Clause 4.5.1 of Chapter 8 and Clause 4.1 of Chapter 9 as clearly applicable. Taking note of the peculiar circumstances of the case, the court accordingly directed that the name of the father of the child be deleted from the passport and the passport be re-issued in favour of the minor child without the name of the father. The Delhi high court added that under certain circumstances the name of the biological father can be deleted and the surname can also be changed. Both the Passport Manual and the OM relied upon by the Respondents recognise that passports can be issued under varying circumstances without the name of the father, the court said. The bench pointed out that such relief ought to be considered, depending upon the factual position emerging in each case. No hard and fast rule can be applied. “There are multiple situations in the case of matrimonial discord between parents, where the child’s passport application may have to be considered by the authorities,” the court said. The single mother and her minor son had approached the high court seeking the deletion of the name of the father of the minor child from his existing passport or as an alternative, the petitioner sought re-issuance of a fresh passport to the minor child without mentioning the name of the father in the document. The court keeping in mind the exceptional circumstances acknowledged the woman’s stand. The stand of the petitioner’s mother was that since she is a single parent and the father had completely abandoned the child, this was a case where the name of the father ought not to be insisted upon by the Passport authorities, for the child’s passport, the high court said in the judgement of April 19. The petitioner had also pointed out the mutual settlement between the parents and the fact that the desertion took place prior to the birth of the child. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.