By Rajesh Pandey
In a significant ruling aimed at strengthening citizens’ mobility rights and streamlining the passport issuance process, the Allahabad High Court has mandated that police verification reports for passport applications must be completed and submitted within four weeks.
The Court observed that avoidable delays in police verification directly interfere with an individual’s constitutional right to travel, especially in cases where passports are being reissued for short durations, such as one year.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Swarupama Chaturvedi issued these directions while disposing of a petition filed by Rahimuddin, who had approached the court over delays in processing his passport application.
The bench stressed that administration must ensure that passport applicants— including those facing criminal proceedings—are not subjected to indefinite delays stemming from procedural lapses.
Court Notes Gaps in MEA Timeline
The judges referred to the Citizens’ Charter (June 2025) issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which prescribes timelines for issuance and reissuance of passports. As per the Charter, the Ministry aims to issue:
- Ordinary passports within 30 working days, and
- Reissued passports within 7 working days
However, the Court pointed out that these timelines explicitly exclude the period required for police verification — a gap that enables significant delays, with no fixed outer limit to complete the verification stage.
Delay Impacts Right To Travel
Calling timely verification a critical step, the Bench stated that prolonged delays undermine the right to travel, particularly when individuals already have necessary court permissions in cases where criminal proceedings are pending.
The judges observed that: Delaying police verification, which is an essential exercise for an accused, is creating a hurdle in realization of the right to travel, especially where reissuance is for only one year.”
Court’s Directives to Police & Passport Authorities
To ensure effective and accountable functioning, the Court laid down detailed directions:
Directions to Police
- Police must process all passport verification files within four weeks.
- No undue delay should be caused unless justified by exceptional circumstances.
Directions to Passport Office
- Applicants must respond promptly to any notice issued by the passport authority.
- Where a passport is delayed due to involvement in a criminal matter, applicants should first obtain a no-objection/sanction/approval from the appropriate court.
- Passport offices must not linger or delay processing applications and must act with urgency when circumstances demand.
- If a passport cannot be issued, the Regional Passport Officer must inform the applicant within one month of the date of application.
- Once the applicant submits the required no-objection or sanction, the passport office must dispose of the application within one month thereafter.
A Move Toward Accountability
Through this order dated October 10, the Allahabad High Court reinforced that bureaucratic delays cannot be grounds to restrict mobility rights and that procedural timelines must be observed strictly.
The judgment is expected to bring greater predictability, transparency, and accountability in passport processing across the country.
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