Madras High Court's BIG verdict: Not necessary for woman to get husband's signature for applying passport
In a big move, the Madras High Court, on Friday declared that it is not necessary for a woman to get the permission of her husband and take his signature before applying for a passport before the authority.
Justice N Anand Venkatesh declared the ruling while disposing a woman's petition who sought direction to the authorities to issue a fresh passport without insisting signature from her husband in a time bound manner.
'It is not necessary for a wife to get the permission of her husband and take his signature before applying for a passport before the authority,' PTI quoted Judge Venkatesh as saying.
In her petition, the woman, Revathi stated that despite a pending divorce case filed by her husband after their marriage in 2023, the Regional Passport Office (RPO) refused to process her passport application submitted in April 2025, citing the need for her husband's signature in Form-J before proceeding.
The Madras High Court also noted that forcing the wife to get her husband's signature when the relationship between the parties was in doldrums, was like asking the woman to fulfil an impossibility, reported Live Law.
"The practice of insisting for permission from the husband to apply for a passport, does not augur well for a society which is moving towards woman emancipation. This practice is nothing short of male supremacism", the judge further noted while hearing the case.
The judge also noted that the insistence made by the RPO shows the mindset of the society in treating women who were married as if they were chattel belonging to the husband.
Justice Anand Venkatesh directed the RPO to process the woman's passport application and issue a passport in her name on her satisfying the other requirements. This process shall be completed within four weeks, the judge added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
"They Don't Care For Any Other Country": Omar Abdullah On Trump-Munir Lunch
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Friday said the US was a "friend" of other countries only till its benefits were served, and Washington can do anything to secure its interests. Mr Abdullah's remark came in response to a question by reporters on US President Donald Trump hosting Pakistan Army chief Asif Munir for a White House lunch. "The US President is a master of his own will. Can we tell him whom he should invite for meals and whom not? It is a separate issue that we used to think the US President was our very special friend, and he would respect our friendship. "But obviously, America does what benefits it. They do not care for any other country," the Chief Minister told reporters after getting down at the Srinagar Railway station, having returned from Jammu. The chief minister had gone to Jammu on the recently launched Vande Bharat train, along with his father, Farooq Abdullah. On his train journey, he said, "Had it not been good, why would I have returned via train by train. The manner in which the people are trying to book trains for this train, and that the process of waiting list has started, we want the length (capacity) and the frequency of the train to be increased." He added, "It has become a successful service in just a few days; we would want more people to benefit from it." Asked about the Iran-Israel conflict, the National Conference leader said the war should stop and the issue resolved through dialogue. "This bombing should not have started. Before this, when the American intelligence in-charge was asked if Iran had the nuclear bomb, he had said he did not think Iran could make a bomb for a long time. But Israel attacked Iran within a few months. This attack should stop and the issues resolved through talks," he said. On the local students studying in Iran, he said they will return gradually. "We cannot bring them back overnight, as airports and ports are closed. We are bringing them via road first to those cities where there is no bombing, then they are being brought back through Armenia. "We are hopeful that today, 300-400 students are returning, a majority of whom are from J-K. We will bring them home safely," he added. Asked about power sharing with the lieutenant governor, Abdullah said the LG should approve the business rules that have been approved by the cabinet to end the confusion. "I have never said LG has all the powers. You check the J-K Reservation Act. The LG has himself said that his responsibility is limited to only the security and law and order. "That is why I am saying that the business rules approved by the cabinet should be signed and returned by the LG so that there is no confusion," he said. "The LG has one responsibility: He should protect the people of J-K and improve the security scenario here ... Rest of the responsibilities are ours," the CM added.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
US ‘friend' of countries only till its interests served, says Omar Abdullah
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Friday said the US was a "friend" of other countries only till its benefits were served, and Washington can do anything to secure its interests. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that the US does "not care for any other country".(PTI) Abdullah's remark came in response to a question by reporters on US President Donald Trump hosting Pakistan Army chief Asif Munir for a White House lunch. "The US President is a master of his own will. Can we tell him whom he should invite for meals and whom not? It is a separate issue that we used to think the US President was our very special friend, and he would respect our friendship. "But obviously, America does what benefits it. They do not care for any other country," the CM told reporters after getting down at the Srinagar Railway station, having returned from Jammu. The chief minister had gone to Jammu on the recently launched Vande Bharat train, along with his father, Farooq Abdullah. On his train journey, he said, "Had it not been good, why would I have returned via train by train. The manner in which the people are trying to book trains for this train, and that the process of waiting list has started, we want the length (capacity) and the frequency of the train to be increased." He added, "It has become a successful service in just a few days; we would want more people to benefit from it." Asked about the Iran-Israel conflict, the National Conference leader said the war should stop and the issue resolved through dialogue. "This bombing should not have started. Before this, when the American intelligence in-charge was asked if Iran had the nuclear bomb, he had said he did not think Iran could make a bomb for a long time. But Israel attacked Iran within a few months. This attack should stop and the issues resolved through talks," he said. On the local students studying in Iran, he said they will return gradually. "We cannot bring them back overnight, as airports and ports are closed. We are bringing them via road first to those cities where there is no bombing, then they are being brought back through Armenia. "We are hopeful that today, 300-400 students are returning, a majority of whom are from J-K. We will bring them home safely," he added. Asked about power sharing with the lieutenant governor, Abdullah said the LG should approve the business rules that have been approved by the cabinet to end the confusion. "I have never said LG has all the powers. You check the J-K Reservation Act. The LG has himself said that his responsibility is limited to only the security and law and order. "That is why I am saying that the business rules approved by the cabinet should be signed and returned by the LG so that there is no confusion," he said. "The LG has one responsibility: He should protect the people of J-K and improve the security scenario here … Rest of the responsibilities are ours," the CM added.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
PM Modi to lead International Yoga Day in Visakhapatnam on July 21: Time, theme and other details
Jun 20, 2025 11:05 PM IST Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in a massive International Yoga Day organised by Andhra Pradesh on Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives a warm welcome from Andhra Pradesh Governor Syed Abdul Nazeer and state Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on his arrival, in Visakhapatnam on Friday.(X/ncbn) The event will be held along a 26-km corridor from RK Beach in Visakhapatnam to Bhogapuram, where over 3 lakh people can perform Yoga simultaneously. Modi arrived in the port city on Friday at around 8 pm. "I extend my hearty welcome to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has arrived to participate in the International Yoga Day tomorrow (Saturday) in Visakha city (Vizag) where lakhs of people will participate in the Yogandhra event being conducted by Andhra Pradesh government," said Andhra Pradesh's deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan said in a post on 'X'. Here's what we know about the event: Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said the event, scheduled from 6.30 am to 8 am, will be organised in such a way to get recognition and set records, including a Guinness World Record. As many as 25,000 tribal students will perform Surya Namaskars for 108 minutes, according to Naidu. 'The objective is to set records for the largest group and the most people performing Surya Namaskars simultaneously,' he said, according to PTI. Also Read | International Yoga Day 2025: 50+ best Yoga Day wishes, images, messages, status to share with loved ones on June 21 Participants are expected to attend the event from eight lakh locations across the state, country, and world. Naidu said that the estimated two crore registrations for yoga day activities have overshot to 2.39 crore. To ensure the smooth organisation of this mega event, 326 compartments with a capacity of 1,000 people each have been prepared, along with 3.32 lakh t-shirts and five lakh yoga mats. Also Read | International Yoga Day 2025: 7 yoga equipment that can help you deepen every pose Over 3,000 buses are expected to ferry yoga enthusiasts to the venue in Vizag. Naidu has urged all the participants should reach their respective places between 6 am and 6.30 am on yoga day. Elaborate security arrangements are being made for the Visakhapatnam event. "Over 1,200 CCTV cameras and drones will monitor the 26-kilometre stretch where thousands of people will perform yoga, with around 10,000 police personnel deployed for security duties," according to DGP Harish Kumar Gupta. (Inputs from PTI)
