Disclaimer: This has been reported after the availability of the order of the Court and not on media reports so as to give an accurate report to our readers.
Allahabad High Court: In a writ petition filed by a man seeking a change of his date of birth (“DOB”) in his passport, the Division Bench of Anish Kumar Gupta and Atul Sreedharan, JJ., remarked that the extent of fabrication of documents, which was directly the result of widespread corruption, was disturbing. Accordingly, the Court directed the Police Commissioner of Prayagraj to register an FIR under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023(“BNS”), against the petitioner who manipulated DOB by 11 years and the officials concerned of the Gram Panchayat who issued the fraudulent birth certificate.
Background
The petitioner applied for the passport, which was issued on 30-11-2022. Before the issuance of the passport, he applied for a change of his date of birth (“DOB”) in his passport from 11-07-1994 to 11-07-2005, which was still pending with the Passport Authority.
Aggrieved by the usage of the wrong DOB in his passport, the petitioner filed the present petition seeking a change of his DOB in his passport from 11-07-1994 to 11-07-2005.
As per the Passport Authority, among the documents placed before it at the time of applying for the passport, the petitioner’s High School examination certificate stated the DOB as 11-07-1994. Thereafter, another document that had been filed was a copy of the petitioner’s Aadhaar Card, which also mentioned his DOB as 11.07.1994. Thereafter, the copy of the Aadhaar Card filed along with the present writ petition reflected that his DOB was 11-07-2005.
Analysis
At the outset, the Court noted that the High School certificate was issued in 2011, and the correction in the Aadhaar Card copy mentioning his DOB as 11-07-2005 seemed to have been carried out subsequently. The Court also noted that the petitioner had filed a birth certificate issued on 04-11-2025, issued by the Gram Panchayat, Prayagraj, showing the petitioner’s DOB as 11-07-2005.
Noting the aforesaid, the Court remarked that,
“The present state of affairs is shocking. The extent of fabrication of documents, which is directly the result of widespread corruption, is disturbing.”
The Court stated that if the petitioner’s contention was accepted and the DOB was corrected to the year 2005, then the High School examination certificate would reflect that the petitioner had taken the said examination at the age of approximately six years.
Due to lack of bona fides and the manipulation conducted by the petitioner, the Court stated that it was essential to proceed a step further and directed the Police Commissioner of Prayagraj to register an FIR under the relevant provisions of the BNS on cheating and forgery of documents against the petitioner and the officials concerned of the Gram Panchayat who issued the birth certificate on 04-11-2025 showing the DOB as 11-07-2005.
Accordingly, the matter was listed for 27-01-2026 to confirm that the operative portion of the order, i.e., the direction to the Commissioner, had been complied with, failing which the Court stated that it shall proceed against the Commissioner.
[Shiv Shankar Pal v. Union of India, Writ C No. 45135 of 2025, decided on 05-01-2026]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For the petitioner: Mohd. Salim Khan, Umakant Kushwaha, Ved Ratan
For the respondents: A.S.G.I., Dinesh Kumar Misra