ORAL JUDGMENT(Per Smt. R. S. Dalvi, J.)
Rule. Heard forthwith with the consent of the learned Counsel. Learned Central Government Standing Counsel waives notice on behalf of the Respondents.
2. The Petitioner applied for a passport from the Passport Authorities under the Passport Act, 1967. The Petitioner produced his birth certificate to substantiate the date of birth provided by him. The Petitioner has relied upon the birth certificate issued by the Birth and Death Registrar even in the Petition.
3. It so transpired that the Petitioner made an inadvertent error in his application for issue of passport in showing his date of birth. The passport therefore came to be issued by the Passport Authorities showing the incorrect date of birth.
4. The Petitioner applied for rectification of the date of birth in the passport issued by the Authorities. The rectification was in view of the error. The rectification was to show the correct date of birth as reflected in the original birth certificate.
5. The Passport Authority would be entitled to correct the endorsement made in the document furnished by it as its Order under Section 21 of the General Clauses Act 1897 as held in the Judgment reported in AIR 2001 BOMBAY 60 in the case of Jigar Harish Shah v. Union of India
6. The Passport Authority has relied upon the Passport Manual 2010 showing Rule 5.2(c) with regard to correction of date of birth in the passport. A special notification may apply for correction of date of birth. However, even without such a specific power, the power to correct an error in a document issued by it would be implicit upon the Authority. Consequently, the Passport Authority upon seeing the original birth certificate produced by the Petitioner, shall correct the date of birth in the passport issued in the name of the Petitioner.
7. Order accordingly.
8. Rule is granted to the above extent.
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