The Madras High Court Bench ruled that there was no need for a Muslim woman to produce a court decree as a proof of divorce from her husband for the issue of passport for her minor child. “The local jamath has certified the fact of giving talaq (divorce). Hence, the passport officer of the Thanjavur Seva Kendra cannot say a decree from a court should be produced to prove that the marriage was dissolved,” Justice K K Sasidharan said, while disposing of a writ petition filed by Ramjan Begum, on behalf of her daughter, who is a minor.
The judge directed the petitioner to provide an affidavit regarding the dissolution of marriage by giving talaq, and produce it to the passport officer. “In case the passport officer is having any doubt about the veracity of the affidavit, it is open to him to conduct an inquiry through the concerned police or revenue officials to ensure that the marriage is not in subsistence,” the judge said.