PANAJI
The Bombay High Court in Goa has directed the Regional Passport Office and relevant government agencies to adhere to the Office Memorandum issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) that conveys the decision of the Ministry of Home Affairs to accept “Revocation Certificates” as valid documents in lieu of “Surrender Certificates” for OCI registrations.
Hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the revocation of Indian passports held by persons with Portuguese nationality, the Bench directed compliance with the Office Memorandum dated April 4.
The order also comes as one petitioner argued he was unable to furnish a passport surrender certificate due to passport revocation. As such, the High Court asked the authorities to reconsider the application.
The MEA directive will simplify the OCI card application process for persons from Goa and Daman & Diu who acquired Portuguese citizenship. The rule change is expected to bring relief to those who were previously ineligible to apply for OCI due to stringent passport requirements; however, there remains ambiguity over the order.
The MEA’s last circular on November 30, 2022, caused widespread panic as it clearly stated that persons holding foreign nationality and attempting to renew their Indian passports would risk having them revoked under Section 10(3)(b) of the Passport Act of 1967.
Since then, numerous applicants, unaware of the consequences, found their passports revoked when seeking renewal at passport offices. Instead of receiving a ‘surrender certificate,’ they were issued a ‘revocation certificate’ by the RPO making them ineligible for OCI cards.
