HYDERABAD: Will the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) subject all diplomatic passports to a round of verification? When asked, a senior official in the MEA in New Delhi has not ruled out this possibility, especially in the wake of the evolving emigration racket.

However, as the matter is "highly sensitive in nature", and the top echelons of the Government of India can alone take a decision, the idea has not crossed the drawing board level.

RPO's reaction

Asked if such verification can be taken up in respect of diplomatic passports issued in Hyderabad, Regional Passport Officer (RPO) B. Bala Bhaskar said, "It is unfair to verify all passports just because incriminating reports against a few have surfaced. Several public representatives and a few bureaucrats with good reputation may be possessing diplomatic passports. It is also tantamount to infringing on their human dignity." He told The Hindu that he would, however, discuss the issue with higher-ups in the MEA.

`Outside the system'

He said rackets were "operated outside the system". Several departments were indirectly involved in a person securing a passport. Beginning from the secondary school certificate to residence proof to police verification, many aspects encompassed the process.

"We would seek clarification only if we have a doubt about the credentials of an applicant," he said. On receipt of information, the passport office might inform the police in case of necessity. After all, the Government would repose trust in its citizens. "If we keep on doubting the credentials of all, we can't issue even a single passport, whereas the Hyderabad office issues over 2,000 passports everyday," said Mr. Bala Bhaskar.

Marriage certificate

On tampering of photographs and other details, the RPO said, "Until recently, marriage certificate has not been used as a testimony to prove a marriage. Besides, there is no standard proof of marriage. If someone replaces the photographs on the passport with criminal intent, they need to be dealt with as per law. For, they are individual cases."

Mr. Bala Bhaskar said that a study was commissioned by National Institute for Smart Governance for integrating biometric fingerprinting system while issuing passports. Once the systems were in place, all passports would eventually have to convert into the biometric system.

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