Kolkata, Nov. 1 -- The Calcutta High Court has directed the Centre to respond to an affidavit filed by a man's adopting mother in a passport renewal dispute over conflicting parental particulars.
Justice Sandip Kumar De, hearing Mayank Saraf's petition, directed the Union government to file its response by affidavit on the next date of hearing. The matter will be placed before the next available Vacation Bench.
Saraf, 49, moved the court alleging that his passport reissue application had remained pending because the names of his biological and adoptive parents differed across documents.
According to his petition, he was adopted in 1988 by Shankar Lal Saraf and Madhu Devi. He claimed the adoption deed was never acted upon and that he continued to live with and be brought up by his biological parents, Kishan Kumar Saraf and Saroj Devi Saraf.
He said his educational certificates, birth certificate, electoral records and identity documents consistently carried his biological parents' names. He said he had obtained passports, including one in 1988, using his adoptive father's name.
After his adoptive father's death on September 15, 2005, declarations were recorded before a notary stating that the adoption had never taken effect and that Saraf continued to be recognised as the son of his biological parents.
Saraf applied for passport reissue on June 5, 2025, and attended an appointment on July 22. He alleged that despite submitting documents and making visits, the authorities did not decide his application. He further claimed they insisted on a court order cancelling the adoption deed before correcting the parental particulars.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.