HOW PASSPORT RENEWS IN INDIA ?

Well, sir, this old man decided on March 7, 2005, to have his expired C 390565 passport renewed. He was sure the passport office will give him his new passport by the same evening, as per rules. Acutally, it was his third renewal, as he had acquired his first passport K 093476 in 1975 in Delhi. But Mr Counter Clerk had other ideas. Since more than 10 years had lapsed after the last renewal, he had to make a new application. As the applicant was born in the State of Jammu & Kashmir, Mr Clerk insisted that he should have J&K and Delhi police verification, notwithstanding the fact that it was his third renewal and no J&K police verification was required on the first instance. When told that applicant's birth place had been submerged in a dam constructed by Pakistan, which was the occupant of that territory, Mr Clerk said the J&K police would know what to do.
How to have the police verification done ? Mr Clerk was very helpful and said he would send the necessary forms to both police depatments and the applicant need not have any worry on that score. The receipt for the application gave SMS and web site for passport status information. The SMS source did not work at all. But the web site was active. In the passport office status update up to 18-05-05 it says : "Police Report is incomplete and the case is being examined." On 13-06-05 the comment is :"Police Report is clear and the passport is expected to be despatched by 14-06-05 subject to all documents being in order." And then : "Due to unavoidable circumstances the despatch of passport has been delayed and will now be despatched in a week's time."
Meanwhile, the J&K police arrived in Delhi to "verify" the applicant's birth place. They gave a convincing presentation of how they have helped fuel successfully the insurgency in J&K. Their one operative, in the middle of the night, would start shouting applicant's pet name in the latter's locality. In a traditional State like J&K, it would create a stir, but in Delhi it was a damp squib. Another followed him to Income Tax Office, where he had gone to file his returns. He was almost caught on the wrong foot when he declared that he was with the applicant. Finally, on 12-07-05 passport office said : "Please Contact Passport Officer to know Status."
At the passport office, he was directed to meet Mr S.P. Kothari, Superintendent, on 15-07-05. Mr Kothari said there was an error in police report. It was self-contradictory. He advised the applicant to file an affidavit about his residential status, which the applicant filed on July 20, 2005. Mr Kothari wanted the applicant to state clearly in the affidavit that he was an old man and therefore his passport should be released. The applicant did not do so. On July 24, 2005, a computer printout dated July 7, 2005, was received by the applicant threatening that his case will be closed if he did not file the affidavit and other documents, which were already with the passport office since 1975. That is coordination for you.
When he did not hear from the passport office till August 10, 2005, the applicant again contacted Mr Kothari, who again wanted another application with an "appeal as an old man" for the release of his passport. This time the old man complied under pressure and the passport was promised by August 23, 2005, and was duly issued on that date, although delivered a week or ten days later.

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