Madras High Court has held travel agents could not demand as a matter of right that they be allowed to accompany applicants for passports into passport seva kendras (PSKs) and submit forms on their behalf.

The court was dismissing a batch of petitions by travel agents seeking to forbear authorities from preventing them from entering the PSKs and submitting applications and forms for passport related services on behalf of the applicants. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice T S Sivagnanam said it was not as if travel agents had been completely denied their right to assist applicants for passport-related service, but their role had been defined.

The petitions were filed after the Regional Passport Officer here in a Sept 7 last circular noted the agents would play a limited role under the passport seva project. Counsel for the petitioners claimed that restriction of services by recognised travel agents, under the guise of introducing PSKs, was arbitrary.

However, the court pointed out that the circular introducing certain restrictions had not been questioned by any of the petitioners. '...We are of the view that by no stretch of imagination, the petitioners who are travel agents could be heard to state that, as a matter of right, they are entitled to accompany the applicants to the PSK and remain with them throughout for the purpose of obtaining passport,' the Judges said. Central Government submitted the policy decision had been taken in the interest of national security as it had come to its notice that persons giving false names and addresses had obtained passports under the earlier system.

Under the new system, applicants should present their application on-line and appear before the PSKs on for verification of documents and other processes. Agents could assist applicants until they entered the PSKs. 

PTI