Delhi High Court Urges Remote Passport Processing for Incapacitated Individuals

The Delhi High Court has directed the Indian government to explore options for processing passport applications of medically incapacitated individuals without requiring their physical presence at the office. The court emphasized the importance of remote services and sought responses from relevant ministries within three weeks.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday pushed the Indian government to consider remote processing of passport applications for medically incapacitated individuals unable to visit passport offices.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, pointed out that similar services are available for registering a person's will without requiring a physical presence. The judge questioned why passport processing couldn't adopt a similar approach.

A plea by a medically incapacitated person highlighted the issue, prompting the court to issue notices to the home and external affairs ministries, seeking responses within three weeks. The court also suggested that guidelines be developed to collect required data from applicants' residences.

(With inputs from agencies.)