The Delhi High Court recently held that the Central Government ought not to deny passports to Indian citizens living in Tibetan refugee colonies. The decision was rendered in a writ petition filed by Tamding Dorjee, who was born to Tibetan refugee parents in India and is an Indian citizen but was denied a passport by the Ministry of External Affairs.
Justice Vibhu Bakhru observed that the Government of India had failed to point out the valid law which gave passport officials the authority to deny passports to Indian citizens. It was observed that the petitioner could not have been denied an Indian passport. Thus, the Court directed the authorities to process his passport application within four weeks.
Isha Kalwant Singh, Legal Intern
Keywords: Passport, Refugee colonies, Writ petition, Authority
