(a) whether the Government has issued passports to the criminals;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the details of the instructions issued in this regard to the passport offices in the
country including Uttar Pradesh?
(a) whether the Government has issued passports to the criminals;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the details of the instructions issued in this regard to the passport offices in the
country including Uttar Pradesh?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRIMATI PRENEET KAUR)
(a) to (c) As per Government instructions, passports to Indian citizens are issued as per the
provisions of the Passports Act 1967 and the Passport Rules 1980 as amended from time to time.
Prior to issuing a passport, the Passport Issuing Authority establishes the applicant’s citizenship,
identity and the absence of criminal record as mandated by the Passports Act. This requires
verification of personal particulars of applicants and background check of their criminal antecedents.
Thus, the Government takes all safeguard measures, so that passports are not issued to criminals and
undesirable elements.
The above-mentioned checks are uniformly applied by all Passport Offices including in Uttar
Pradesh. The passports under the normal category where the police verification report is required
are issued only after receipt of clear police verification report. The cases in which the fresh
passport applications are submitted with verification certificates or re-issue cases with or without
verification certificate, are issued on post-police verification basis subject to no adverse information
found in the system during the processing of the applications. Where the passports are issued on post-
police verification basis, the genuineness of verification certificates are checked through telephone,
fax and e-mail before issuance of the passport. In case of receipt of non-genuinessness of verification
certificate or adverse police verification report afterwards, a show cause notice is issued to the
applicant. In case of non-receipt of reply within the prescribed time limit, the passport is impounded/
revoked under the Passports Act 1967 and with intimation to the all check posts/immigration authorities.