The Delhi High Court has observed that the passport of a minor child can be issued without the biological father's name under varying circumstances and that such a relief depends upon the "facts of each case."

In a plea moved by a minor son and his mother seeking deletion of the father's name from his passport and for re-issuance of a fresh passport without mentioning the father's name, Justice Pratibha M. Singh said that the Passport Manual of 2020 and the official memorandum issued by Union Ministry of External Affairs on February 28 last year recognise that passports can be issued under different circumstances without father's name.

No hard and fast rule can be applied in such cases, the judge remarked.

"Such a relief ought to be considered, depending upon the factual position emerging in each case. No hard and fast rule can be applied. There are myriad 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 added.

In peculiar cases where there is no contact of the father with the mother or child, his name need not be included in the child's passport, Justice Singh said perusing the Office Memorandum (OM).

The court said: "Irrespective of the fact that the applicable clauses in the Manual may be different, the spirit behind the said decisions is clear, i.e., that under certain circumstances the name of the biological father can be deleted and the surname can also be changed."

It was further said that the Passport Manual merely contemplates some of the situations in matrimonial discord cases where a child's passport application may have to be considered by the authorities.

Depending on the fact of the situation, however, the need for flexibility exists and a thorough examination and understanding of court orders may also be required.

Directing a new passport be issued in favour of the minor without his father's name who left his mother when she was pregnant, the court emphasised that the order "shall not be treated as a precedent."

The Union of India's submission, which said that the OM would only apply to "single unwed parents," was also dismissed by the court.

"Wherever the term 'single unwed parent' is to be mentioned, the same has specifically been mentioned by the Passport Authorities. In other clauses the term 'single parent' is used. However, the mere furnishing of the name does not result in the conclusion that the name of the father has to be compulsorily mentioned. It would depend on the circumstances of each case," the court said.