New norms for unwed mothers

Mumbai: While applying for a passport for her child, an unwed mother will have to declare how she conceived, the Union government told Bombay high court on Thursday. 

A “Times of India” report said Advocate Purnima Bhatia representing the Union government told Bombay high court that “an unwed mother must file an affidavit stating how she has conceived and if she was raped and why she does not want the father’s name included.” She added the details are in the passport manual, a classified document.

This reply was to a query by a division bench of Justices V M Kanade and Anuja Prabhudessai, which heard a petition by a woman challenging the passport authority’s refusal to include her step-father’s name in her passport.  According to the passport manual, the instructions state that only the biological father’s name must be mentioned on the passport.

According to the current rules for passport application, both parents’ signatures are required for children under the age of 14.

If one parent cannot be present at the passport office, he or she can complete a Statement of Consent and have it notarized to prove the authenticity of the signature.