Denied passport for being an orphan

Mumbai: As if fate playing a cruel prank on Sandeep Kamble by depriving him of familial love all his life wasn't bad enough, the 21-year-old orphan has also been denied a passport because he does not have a birth certificate.

While a government rule introduced in 2006 makes it mandatory for applicants born after 1989 to submit a copy of their birth certificate while applying for a passport, the application of Kamble, a second-year computer engineering student, was rejected despite him submitting an affidavit attesting to his birth date and birthplace.

He also submitted a letter from the orphanage he has been living in for nine years. Kamble had applied for the passport last month.

Officials of Snehasadan Home for Orphans in Andheri issued Kamble the letter, which states that his birth date is 13-12-1990 and birthplace is Chalisgaon near Manmad district as per his school certificate and confirms that he has been living with them since 2002.

"I am an orphan and have been living in Snehasadan for nine years. I am not aware of the existence of any of my relatives or family members. As a legitimate Indian citizen, I had applied for a passport. I had submitted all the required documents ration card, school leaving certificate, driving licence, pan card and voter's ID card with the exception of my birth certificate, which I do not have," said Kamble.

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"In lieu of the certificate, I submitted an affidavit stating my date of birth along with a letter from the orphanage in which I am staying. But, to my dismay, the officials at the Worli passport office refused to even consider my case and said I had no alternative but to produce the birth certificate if I wanted my passport," he added.

Kamble said he faced a similar problem when he wanted to get admission in an engineering college and was asked to get his caste certificate to get a concession in college fees.

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"In 2007, I even went to Chalisgaon to try and find out if I had any relatives. However, I couldn't locate anyone and the head of the village clearly told me that there was no one from my family in the village.

"How can an orphan who has no knowledge about his place of birth and no family present a birth certificate?

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Does the Government of India want to stop all orphans from applying for passports? Two or three other boys from Snehasadan are also facing a similar problem, which is stopping them from going abroad and pursuing the careers of their choice. This is not done," said a visibly angry Kamble.

Father Noel Pinto of Snehasadan said, "We had submitted an affidavit with the letter, stating that he has been staying with us for nine years along with his date and place of birth, which was rejected, I do not understand how an orphan, who is an Indian citizen, can be refused a passport."

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VK Choubey, Regional Passport Officer, said, "The government has made it mandatory for every citizen born after 1989 to submit his/her birth certificate. We are only following the rules, but we can still consider this case after the police verification is done. Meanwhile, Kamble can apply in the civil court, to the district magistrate or to the municipal corporation to get his birth certificate."

Before making the Andheri orphanage his home, Kamble used to stay with an old man, Nishit Bhatt, at his Charni Road residence and studied in Chikitsak Shirodkar High School. Bhatt took care of the young boy until his death, when Kamble, then 12, had to be shifted to Snehasadan because Bhatt was a bachelor and there was no one to look after him.