Women don't need husband's signature to apply for passport: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has held 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 gave the ruling in a recent order while disposing of a petition filed by Revathy. She sought a direction to the authorities to issue a fresh passport without insisting signature from her husband in a time bound manner.

The case of the petitioner was that she got married in the year 2023 and that there was a matrimonial dispute between the parties which resulted in her husband filing a petition before a local court, seeking for the dissolution of the marriage. This petition was pending.

The petitioner, applied for a passport in April this year before the Regional Passport Office (RPO) in the city. It was not processed and when enquired, the petitioner was informed that she must obtain the signature of her husband in Form-J and only thereafter, the application will be processed by RPO.

The RPO also took into consideration the pending dispute between the petitioner and her husband before the Court. It was under these circumstances, she filed the present petition.

In his order, the judge said that in the considered view of this court, the application submitted by the petitioner seeking a passport has to be processed independently.

"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", the judge added.

He said this 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. It was quite shocking that the passport office was insisting for the permission of the husband and his signature in a particular form in order to process the application submitted by the petitioner for the passport.

Already the relationship between the petitioner and her husband was in doldrums and the RPO was expecting the petitioner to get the signature of the husband. Virtually, the RPO was insisting the petitioner to fulfill an impossibility, the judge added.

The judge said the petitioner after marriage does not lose her individuality and a wife can always apply for a passport without the permission or signature of the husband in any form. "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 added..

The judge directed the RPO to process the application submitted by the petitioner and issue a passport in her name on her satisfying the other requirements.

This process shall be completed within four weeks, the judge added.