Sr. No. 18 Regular IN THE HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH AT SRINAGAR WP(C) 728/2025 CM(1781/2025) MARYAM AKBAR …Petitioner(s)/appellant(s) Through: Mr. Vaseem Aslam, Advocate Vs. Union of India and Ors ...Respondent(s) Through: Mr. T.M. Shamsi, DSGI. CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE JAVED IQBAL WANI, JUDGE O R D E R 02-04-2025 1. In the instant petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution, the petitioner herein has prayed for the following reliefs: a) Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction, in the nature of Mandamus, directing the Respondents to re-issue Passport in favour of the Petitioner on the basis of correct date of birth of the Petitioner (i.e 14.03.1998), in accordance with the documentary evidence submitted. b) Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction, in the nature of Mandamus, directing the Respondents to reissue the correct passport in favour of the Petitioner within a stipulated time frame to enable the Petitioner to travel abroad without any further delay. 2. The aforesaid reliefs have been prayed on the premise that the respondents issued a passport in favour of the petitioner bearing No. L7437644, wrongly recorded her date of birth as 07.06.1997 instead of her correct date of birth being 14.03.1998, as recorded in her Matriculation Certificate issued by the J&K State Board of School Education and that the petitioner approached the respondents for correction of her date of birth Junaid Ayoub I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this document while applying for issuance of fresh passport, the respondents did not entertain request of the petitioner and even overlooked her correct date of birth recorded in the Matriculation Certificate, thus compelling the petitioner to approach this Court through the medium of the instant petition and that the respondents also in the process even overlooked the guidelines regulating and governing such corrections issued under office memorandum dated 26.11.2015, which guidelines produced by the counsel for the petitioner at para 4 (iii) provide as follows: - “(iii) The cases where the applicant comes to PIA for change/correction with regard to date of birth in the Passport after a period of five years from the date of issue of passport with alleged wrong date of birth, no such request shall be entertained/accepted by the PIA and be rejected out rightly. However, an exemption in this regard may be given to an applicant who was minor at the time when passport with alleged wrong date of birth was issued to him, As and when such an applicant after attaining the age of majority applies for the passport with the request to change the date he was minor, the RIA irrespective of the duration of the issuance of passport may accept his case for consideration and if is satisfied with the claim and document(s) submitted by the applicant, may accept his request for change of date of birth in the passport without imposition of any penalty.” 3. The learned counsel for the petitioner would thus pray for the disposal of the instant petition at this stage with a direction to the respondents to reconsider the case of the petitioner for correction of her date of birth while considering the re-issuance of the passport in her favour. 4. Mr. T.M. Shamsi, learned DSGI, who is present in the Court enters appearance on behalf of the respondents on asking of the Court and he is not averse to the disposal of the petition at this stage and to reconsidering of the case of the petitioner. 5. Having regard to the aforesaid position obtaining in the matter in general and the guidelines dated 26.11.2015 (supra) in particular, it is deemed appropriate to dispose of the instant petition at this stage and is, accordingly, disposed of with a direction to the respondents to revisit and reconsider the case of the petitioner for correction of her date of birth in furtherance of the re-issuance of passport in her favour, in accordance with law and applicable rules. The consideration be accorded without any Junaid Ayoub I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this document further delay, preferably within a period of four weeks’ from the date a copy of this order is produced by the petitioner before respondent 2. 6. Disposed of. (JAVED IQBAL WANI) JUDGE SRINAGAR 02-04-2025 Junaid Junaid Ayoub I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this document