Passport parentage rules cannot override a single mother's application where no law requires the biological father's name.

A passport authority cannot insist on the biological father's name in a child's first passport application unless a legal requirement expressly mandates it. The Delhi High Court held that the Passport Manual provision relied on was inapplicable because it addressed deletion of a parent's name after divorce, not initial entry of parentage details. The Court emphasised that where the father has abandoned the child or is uninvolved, the child's welfare, identity and autonomy take primacy. It also noted that the online form allowed particulars of the father, mother or legal guardian, and that software could not override legal entitlement.

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Issues: Whether the respondents could insist that the passport application of a child raised by a single mother must contain the biological father's name, and whether the passport could be issued without such entry.

Analysis: The requirement to mention the biological father's name was held to be enforceable only if mandated by law. Clause 4.5 of Chapter 8 of Passport Manual 2010 was found inapplicable because it dealt with deletion of a parent's name consequent to divorce and not with first-time entry in the passport. The Court relied on the principle that where the father has abandoned the child or is uninvolved, the welfare of the child and the child's identity and autonomy assume primacy. The Court also noted that the updated online form permitted one of father, mother or legal guardian to be furnished, and that technology could not defeat legal entitlement.

Conclusion: The respondents could not insist on the biological father's name, and the passport application was directed to be accepted and processed without that entry.

Final Conclusion: The petition succeeded, and the passport authority was required to modify its software and issue the passport on the basis of the mother's details alone.

Ratio Decidendi: In the absence of a legal requirement, a passport authority cannot compel disclosure of the biological father's name where doing so would undermine the child's welfare and identity, particularly in a single-parent situation.

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