Layers of security delay passport clearance; strict document verification by cops
Telegraph | 1 April 2025
Police have added several layers of checks to the passport verification process for both new and re-issue cases, increasing the time for such clearance.
Sources said the added security measures taken by Kolkata Police include sending all the applicants’ identity documents to the respective departments from where they were issued and also sharing a link with the passport applicants through which they can track which documents the police are verifying.
According to regional passport office sources, earlier, passports would be issued within one to two weeks of an interview at the passport seva kendra. Now, it takes close to a month on average.
The process, according to the police, was started to make the verification process “foolproof.” It has considerably increased the time taken for the clearance.
Recently, a racket helping foreigners obtain Indian passports by supplying them with forged identity documents was busted. The incident prompted Kolkata Police to chalk out a new standard operating procedure for passport verification.
“The verifying officers, earlier, used to check the documents and grant or deny permission based on their observations. However, now we are not leaving it to their discretion and sending all the documents to their issuing bodies,” said an officer of Kolkata Police attached to the security control office.
For example, a scanned copy of the birth certificate is sent to the issuing municipal corporation (Kolkata Municipal Corporation in the case of Calcutta); Aadhaar card details are sent to the Unique Identification Authority of India and an educational certificate is sent to the respective board of education for the verification of the documents, the officer said.
Kolkata Police recently found at least 120 cases of passport applicants living within the city police limits who submitted forged identity documents with their passport applications. By the time police had stumbled upon this racket, 73 applicants had already been issued Indian passports, as the police failed to identify that the documents submitted by them were fake.
Kolkata Police have submitted a chargesheet in this case, mentioning that 120 Bangladeshi nationals have been identified who have submitted fake documents to obtain Indian passports. One of these Bangladeshi nationals has been arrested.
The arrested persons included one city police officer who had verified at least 52 of the cases where forged documents were submitted.
“We wanted to make the system more robust and transparent. Now it is taking a little longer as the verification is done by the document issuing agencies to eliminate the chances of manipulation at any end,” said an officer of the rank of joint commissioner of the city police.
According to the existing process, a passport applicant must apply online, book an appointment at a passport seva kendra and appear for the interview at the kendra.
Once an application is cleared by the kendra it is sent to the respective police district for verification.
At this stage, the police are supposed to visit the addresses of the applicants for physical verification and collect documents confirming their address, date of birth and place of birth. The police submit a report allowing passport issuance if the documents are genuine. A positive police verification report automatically sends the application to the printing queue of the Regional Passport Office (RPO),Calcutta. However, in case of an adverse report by the police, the applicant must contact the RPO.
A “re-investigation” by police can be initiated only after the passport officers find it fit for another round of police verification.
“If there is doubt on the applicant’s nationality, meaning he/she may not be an Indian, there is no question of a re-investigation. Re-investigation is done only for cases where the documents are inadequate, and another chance to rectify is allowed,” said the officer.
Many applicants living under the jurisdiction of Kolkata Police said their applications were “stuck” as police were taking “a long time” to clear their files. Many said they were not aware of the new process.
Senior officers said a pilot project has been started in two police divisions in Calcutta, where a link is being sent to the applicants, following which the applicants can check which documents the police are verifying.
“As the scrutiny has tightened, many applicants are feeling that the police are unnecessarily asking for more documents to harass them. To keep things clear and transparent, now the applicants can also see which documents are being uploaded in the passport portal,” said an officer.