Kerala High Court has come down heavily on passport authorities for compelling single parents, who are divorced or separated, to resort to litigation for re-issuance of the travel document of their children, saying the officials concerned should be “pragmatic and reasonable”.

The high court also imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on an assistant passport officer for his “high-handedness” in objecting to a divorced woman’s application for re-issuance of her minor daughter’s passport without the father’s consent and asking her to get a court order.

Justice Amit Rawal of Kerala High Court was hearing the woman’s plea claiming that the passport authorities did not process her application despite her submitting an undertaking or declaration, as provided under the rules where one of the parents has not given consent, that the entire responsibility of the child would be hers as there is already an order of divorce.

She had also submitted a copy of the divorce decree, her petition had said.

The court said: said: “This court has come across similar litigation day in and day out whereby the petitioners/ applicants for re-issuance of passport, particularly either of the parent who is facing the matrimonial discord or there is already a separation, are compelled to approach this court for appropriate order, despite filling the form Annexure ‘C’.”

“The officers at the helm of affairs exercising the powers for issuing the passport are supposed to deal with the application in a pragmatic and reasonable manner, but should not reject the application in the manner and mode as extracted above.”

The passport authorities told the court that the application by the woman had been processed and shall be issued within a week.

Justice Rawal, however, observed that the step was taken by them “knowing full well that the court would express concern with regard to the spate of litigations and may come down heavily on the action of the respondents”.