Ruling on Passport Denial on negative Police verification: Rajasthan High Court.

·  Rajasthan High Court ruling on passport denial: The court ruled that a negative police verification report alone cannot automatically lead to the denial of a passport application.

·  Court’s stance on police verification: Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand emphasized that the Passport Authority is not required to follow the conclusions of an adverse police verification report blindly.

·  Legal right to a passport: An unfavorable police report does not strip a citizen of their legal entitlement to a passport. It is up to the Passport Authority to review the details and history of the applicant, as mentioned in the police report, to determine if the passport should be granted or denied.

·  Passport Act provisions: The Passport Act of 1967 allows authorities to conduct inquiries and request police verification to assess the background of applicants. This is meant to help determine whether a passport should be issued or withheld.

·  Decision remains with Passport Authority: While the police report can be considered, the final decision on issuing or denying a passport rests solely with the Passport Authority, which must evaluate all facts presented in the report before making a decision.

·  Court’s decision in specific case: The court provided relief to a 34-year-old woman whose passport renewal application was rejected due to doubts about her nationality, stemming from an adverse police report.

·  Woman’s background: The woman, born in India (1990) in Tihar Jail, had previously held a passport and possessed other Indian identity documents like a PAN card, Aadhaar card, voter card, and driving license.

·  Doubts over nationality: The police report raised concerns about her being Nepali, but the court rejected this claim, affirming that her Indian nationality was supported by her birth in India, her father’s and husband’s permanent residency in India, and her other identification documents.

·  Court’s conclusion: The woman is an Indian citizen by birth, and the claim in the police report about her being Nepali was unfounded. The court ruled that her nationality could not be questioned based on the report.

·  Order to authorities: The court overturned the passport renewal denial and instructed the authorities to process her application within eight weeks, while leaving open the possibility of legal actions if new adverse information surfaces.

·  Legal representation: The petitioner was represented by Advocates Rakesh Chandel and Abhinav Bhandari, while the Central government was represented by Advocate Manjeet Kaur.

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