Delhi HC orders removal of father’s name from abandoned son’s passport
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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court recently ordered the passport authorities to remove father’s name from the passport of a single mother’s minor son.
The child was raised by her after the man abandoned them even before the child was born, according to a report by NDTV.
The court said that the name of the biological father can be removed under certain circumstances, just as the surname can also be changed.
Justice Prathiba M Singh said the case showed that the father has completely deserted the child.
The bench said that Clause 4.5.1 of Chapter 8 and Clause 4.1 of Chapter 9 would be clearly applicable under ‘such circumstances’.
Considering ‘the unique and peculiar circumstances of the case’ the court directed passport authorities to remove name of the child’s father and re-issue it without the man’s name.
‘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 reportedly said.
The mother and her son approached the court seeking to remove the biological father’s name from the passport, They sought to re-issue a fresh passport to the child without carrying the name of the father in it.
The high court said in the judgment that the mother of the child has taken the stand since she is a single parent after the father abandoned the child, hence his name ought not to be mentioned in the passport.