The Madras High Court has made it clear that is not necessary for a wife to get her husband’s permission and his signature while applying for a passport. The court added that such a practice does not augur well for a society that is moving towards women’s emancipation and was a kind of male supremacism.
“The practice of insisting for permission from the husband to apply for passport, does not augur well for a society which is moving towards woman emancipation. This practise is nothing short of male supremacism,” the court observed.
Expressing shock at the authority’s insistence, Justice Anand Venkatesh observed that insistence by the Passport Authorities showed the mindset of the society, which treated women like a chattel and as belonging to the husband after marriage. The court added that the woman does not lose her individuality after marriage and can always apply for a passport without the permission or signature of her husband.
“In the considered view of this Court, the application submitted by the petitioner seeking for passport has to be processed independently. It is not necessary for a wife to get the permission of her husband and take his signature before applying for a passport before the authority. This insistence made by the 2nd respondent shows the mindset of the society in treating woman who are married as if they are chattel belonging to the husband. It is quite shocking that the passport office is insisting for the permission of the husband and his signature in a particular form in order to process the application submitted by the petitioner for passport,” the court said.
The court was hearing a petition filed by a wife seeking direction to the Regional Passport Office to process her passport application. The wife had submitted that she got married in 2023 and had a daughter in 2024. While so, due to a matrimonial dispute, her husband had filed for dissolution of marriage, which was pending before the Sub-Court, Alandur.
The wife submitted that when she applied for a passport in April 2025, it was not processed, and when she enquired, she was informed that she should obtain her husband’s signature in Form J. Though the Regional Passport Office was informed about the matrimonial dispute, the wife was told that her application would be processed only after obtaining the signature. Against this, she had moved the present plea.
The court noted that when the relationship between the parties was in doldrums, by forcing the wife to get her husband’s signature, the authorities were insisting her to fulfil an impossibility.
