Girl can use stepfather name in passport: HC

Chennai: Coming to the rescue of a girl student whose plea to use her st­e­pfather’s na­­me in her passport was turned down, the Ma­dras high court has directed the authorities to receive the application and issue the passport by using her stepfather’s na­me, to enable her ad­­mi­ssion to an As­tro Ph­­­­ysics course in the Na­t­i­­­onal Univ­ersity of Sin­g­apore.

After obtaining divo­rce, her mother got re-ma­­rried. At the time of school admission, the ste­pfather’s name was given in the records. She completed her plus-two in a city school, which had an arrangement with the National University of Singapore to select meritorious candidates for placement in the university. She was provisionally selected for admission to the Astro Physics course.

The university would give admission slip only on production of the passport number. But her mother could not register the passport application online as her birth certificate reflected the name of her biological father and school records showed the name of her stepfather. Hence, her mother approached the passport officials, who informed her that th­ere was a need for a co­urt order to use the name of her stepfather in the passport.

Considering the fact that the petitioner’s educational prospects should not be affected, Justice M. Venugopal directed the RPO to receive the application and issue the passport by using the name of the petitioner’s stepfather.