Parents Strained Relationship Shall Not Affect Child's Welfare: Madras HC Asks MEA, Indian Consulate In US To Renew Minor's Passport

The Madras High Court recently asked the Ministry of External Affairs and the Consulate General of India in Houston, USA to renew the passport of a 10th-grade minor girl living in the USA with her father. The minor child is aged about 15 years and the legal guardianship vests with the petitioner and in the absence of any order of the court of competent jurisdiction depriving the petitioner of his custody over the child, I do not think the Official Respondents can refuse renewal of passport on technical consideration that one of the parent has not given her consent for renewal of the passport," it added. The court observed that merely because the passport manual prescribed consent of both parents at the time of renewal, the right of the child to pursue education could not be denied on technical grounds. “Merely because, the passport manual prescribed that renewal application shall be made with the consent of both the parents, the right available to the child to pursue the education and her passport renewal cannot be denied on technical grounds,” the court said. The court further noted that since the child was 15 years old and the legal guardianship was with the father, the authorities could not refuse renewal of passport on technical consideration that one parent had not given consent when there was no court order depriving the father's custody.