In Digital India, Certificates By Govt Authorities Have To Be Internationally Accepted Especially When We Are Front-Runners: Kerala HC
The Kerala High Court has recently observed that for the vision of digital India to materialize, the Government and Instrumentalities have to be abreast with the emerging global demands. For the same purposes, it also noted that the documents issued by authorities have to be internationally accepted. Resultantly, directed the Regional Passport Office to forthwith take up the matter with authorities and make necessary changes in the central database.
On finding the stand of the Regional Passport Office to be “cavil, naïve and unacceptable”, a bench of Justice C.S. Dias observed, “We are in the AI era and the 5G revolution. Our Nation is a front-runner in technology. We are striving to make India Digital with initiatives like Indiastack.global, to have a repository of open standards and interoperability principles of key projects implemented under the Digital India Mission like Aadhaar, UPI, Digilocker etc. The certificates issued by the government and statutory authorities have to be internationally accepted, especially when India is a signatory to international conventions and treaties”.
Advocate P.I. Davis appeared for the petitioner and Deputy Solicitor General for India (DSGI) S Manu, appeared for the respondents.
In the present case, the Regional Passport Office-first respondent issued a police clearance certificate (PCC) in favour of the petitioner, after he was enlarged on bail for a matrimonial offence.
However, upon reaching Kuwait for employment, the Embassy of Kuwait refused to accept the certificate since it did not contain a barcode. On approaching the first respondent, they refused to grant the same considering the criminal antecedents.
Further contended that despite High Court’s orders, nothing effective has been done in the matter.
Therefore, the petitioner’s request is to have a PCC with a barcode, his scanned photograph, and the details of the criminal case pending against him.
The DSGI contended that the first respondent is helpless to incorporate the details as it does not have access to make changes in the computer system of the central database.
The first respondent’s stand is that PCCs are issued from the system based on the Ministry of External Affairs database. The central database permits PCCs to be issued with barcodes and scanned photographs only if the applicant has no criminal antecedents; otherwise, only a manual certificate can be issued without the barcode and scanned photograph
Further submitted that as per the existing Passport Seva Project System, the Passport Issuing Authorities can generate a PCC through the system, with a barcode and scanned photograph as per the format extracted in the statement, only if no criminal case is registered against the applicant.
Therefore, considering the nature of grievance and the other relevant factors the bench was of the opinion, “The petitioner’s requirement is one such example that demonstrates that the Government and Instrumentalities have to be abreast with the ever emerging global demands. If our vision to have a digital India is to materialise, we must be willing to change every minute to catch up with the global world and not adopt a pedantic and rigid approach”.
The bench was also of the opinion that making such minor modifications in the central database can avert future litigations. “…It also eliminates the cumbersome process of apostille stamping/attestation of the document by foreign missions”, the judgment further read.
Accordingly, the bench directed the Regional Passport Office to forward a copy of the judgment to Ministry of External Affairs to take immediate steps to upgrade the central database and issue the PCC certificate to the petitioner.
Cause Title: Ejo P.J. v. Regional Passport Office
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