Mohamed Hanif Abdul Kareem v. The Chief Passport Officer,
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED: 21.04.2026
CORAM:
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M. DHANDAPANI Mohamed Hanif Abdul Kareem ..Petitioner(s) Vs
1. The Chief Passport Officer, Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs, CPV Division, Patiala House, Tilak Marg, New Delhi 110001.
2. The Regional Passport Officer, Regional Passport Office, Anna Salai, Chennai 600002.
..Respondents Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, for the issuance of a Writ of Mandamus directing the first respondent to dispose the appeal dated 02/11/2020 and reissue the passport No.E7683688 to the petitioner, within the time frame that may be fixed by this Court. For Petitioner :
Ms. B. Lavanya For Respondents :
Ms.Durga Rani CGSC for R1 Mr.V. Meghanathan Govt. Advocate (Crl. Side) for R2 1/4
ORDER
The writ petition has been filed seeking a direction to the 1st respondent to dispose of the petitioner's appeal/representation in respect of his passport issue.
2. The case of the petitioner is that he was initially issued Passport No. E7683688 dated 02.01.2004 by the Regional Passport Office, Chennai, upon submission of valid documents. Subsequently, through a travel agent, another passport bearing No. F7600141 dated 05.04.2006 came to be issued at Tiruchirapalli. It is further stated that while the petitioner was in London, he lost his passport and returned to India on 24.01.2011. It is the grievance of the petitioner that though explanation was submitted, his passport application was rejected by the 2nd respondent and later an appeal was preferred before the 1st respondent. It is his grievance that the petitioner's first passport was surrendered before the 2nd respondent. In such circumstances, this writ petition has been filed with the aforesaid prayer.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner has made an appeal/representation before the competent authority and the same may be directed to be disposed of within a time frame. 2/4
4. Learned counsel for the respondents submitted would submit that the matter requires verification; however, the appeal/representation of the petitioner can be considered in accordance with law.
5. Considering the limited scope of the prayer, this Court, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, directs the first respondent to consider and dispose of the petitioner's appeal, on its own merits and in accordance with law, after affording an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner, within a period of twelve weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.
6. The writ petition stands disposed of with the above directions. No costs.
21.04.2026 Index : Yes / No Speaking Order / Non-speaking order vsi2 3/4
M. DHANDAPANI, J.
vsi2 To
1. The Chief Passport Officer, Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs, CPV Division, Patiala House, Tilak Marg, New Delhi 110001.
2. The Regional Passport Officer, Regional Passport Office, Anna Salai, Chennai 600002.
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