A single mother filed a petition before the Delhi High Court to remove the father’s name from her minor son’s passport as the child was abandoned by his father even before he was born and she is raising her son single-handedly.
Justice Prathiba M Singh observed that this case was one where the father completely deserted the child and due to the unique circumstances of the case, directed that the name of the father of the minor boy be removed from the passport and a new passport to be issued in the name of the child without the name of the father.
The court relied on the Passport Manual that recognised that passports can be issued under certain circumstances without the name of the father. However, it pointed out that such relief can be granted based on the factual position of each case and that no hard and fast rule can be applied.
