Hina Ketan Thakrar vs Union Of India & Anr.

Court
Delhi High Court

$~39
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
rd
% Date of Decision: November 03 , 2026
# CNR No. DLHC010268722026
+ W.P.(C) 8475/2026 & CM APPL. 76241/2026
HINA KETAN THAKRAR .....Petitioner
Through: Mr. Rajiv Gupta, Advocate.
versus
UNION OF INDIA & ANR. .....Respondents
Through: Mr. Harsh Choudhury, CGSC
with Mr. Divyansh Mishra, Mr.
Siddhant Sharma, Advocates
and Mr. Arvind GP for UOI.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT MAHAJAN
AMIT MAHAJAN, J. (Oral)
1. By the present petition, the petitioner challenges the order dated
25.05.2026 (hereafter ‘ impugned order ’) passed by Respondent No.
2 refusing to set aside the order dated 27.03.2026 passed by the High
Commission of India at London whereby the petitioner’s passport was
revoked and no Surrender Certificate was issued on the ground that
the petitioner suppressed material information. The petitioner also
seeks issuance of a direction to the respondents to issue Surrender
Certificate to the petitioner.
2. Succinctly put, the petitioner had acquired British citizenship
vide Naturalisation Certificate No. 11786504 issued by the Home
Office, London on 07.08.2025. Thereafter, on 10.10.2025, the
petitioner applied for the renewal of her Indian Passport to change her
Signature Not Verified
W.P.(C) 8475/2026 Page 1 of 5
Signed By:SANJAY
KUMAR
Signing Date:04.11.2026
21:02:03

maiden name to post marriage name. Subsequently, on 22.10.2025,
the petitioner obtained British Passport. The petitioner thereafter
approached the High Commission of India, London and applied for
surrender of her Indian Passport with a view to obtain a Surrender
Certificate.
3. Subsequently, vide order dated 27.03.2026, the High
Commission of India, London revoked the petitioner’s passport and
refused to grant a surrender certificate on the ground that the
petitioner had suppressed material information about her having
acquired foreign nationality. The appeal preferred by the petitioner
against the order dated 27.03.2026 was also dismissed by the
impugned order. Aggrieved thereby, the petitioner preferred the
present petition.
4. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
impugned order has been passed in a mechanical manner without
proper appreciation of the explanation furnished by the petitioner. He
submits that the petitioner had voluntarily approached the authorities
for surrender of her Indian Passport and there was no deliberate
concealment or intentional suppression on the part of the petitioner.
He submits that initially, a Surrender Certificate was issued by the
High Commission of India, London on 06.11.2025, however,
thereafter, without affording any opportunity of hearing to the
petitioner, the passport of the petitioner was revoked.
5. On the other hand, the learned CGSC for the respondent
submits that the petitioner, at the time of seeking renewal of her
Indian Passport, had already voluntarily acquired British Citizenship
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Signed By:SANJAY
KUMAR
Signing Date:04.11.2026
21:02:03

on 07.08.2025 and had ceased to be an Indian citizen. He submits that
despite the same, the petitioner applied for renewal of her passport by
declaring that she continued to hold Indian nationality and had not
acquired foreign citizenship. He submits that while the petitioner has
sought to explain that she applied for renewal of passport to change
her maiden name to post marriage name, the purpose for which the
renewal was sought cannot dilute the statutory obligation cast upon
the petitioner to make a complete, true and correct disclosure of
material facts. He submits that the failure of the petitioner to disclose
all material facts disentitles her from receiving Surrender Certificate.
6. I have heard the counsel and carefully perused the material on
record.
7. It is not disputed that the petitioner had acquired British
Citizenship on 07.08.2025. The question however is whether in the
facts and circumstances of the present case, the subsequent renewal of
the petitioner’s passport warranted the action taken by the respondents
without proper consideration of the circumstances that circumscribed
such renewal.
8. The petitioner has appended certain communications with the
present petition that reveal that prior to applying for renewal of
passport, an email was sent by the petitioner’s husband to the High
Commission of India, London on 23.09.2025 whereby it was disclosed
that the petitioner had acquired British citizenship, and that the
petitioner’s British Passport was on hold till the Indian Passport was
updated to reflect her maiden name. Guidance was also sought on the
exact procedure to change the Indian Passport to reflect her married
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Signed By:SANJAY
KUMAR
Signing Date:04.11.2026
21:02:03

name.
9. The record further reveals that a surrender certificate dated
06.11.2025 was thereafter issued by the High Commission of India at
London. Neither the impugned order nor the order dated 27.03.2026
passed by the High Commission of India at London lays down the
circumstances in which the said Surrender Certificate was issued or
the manner in which it was subsequently denied.
10. It is not in doubt that in accordance with Section 10(3)(b) of the
Passports Act, 1967, the passport authority possesses the power to
revoke a passport on suppression of material information, however,
the existence of such statutory power does not dispense with the
obligation to exercise it fairly and upon a consideration of the relevant
material. Section 10(3)(b) of the Passports Act, 1967 employs the term
“may”, and consequently, the exercise of the power ought not to be
mechanical.
11. It is not the case of the respondents that the renewed passport
was used by the petitioner for travel or to obtain any other benefit.
While it is not the intention of this Court and this Court is not holding
that the obligation of the applicant to furnish requisite information
with candour and responsibility can be dispensed with, however, upon
a consideration of the totality of circumstances, the contemporaneous
material on record lends credence to the opinion of this Court that the
omission in the renewal application could have been a bona fide error
rather than a deliberate attempt to conceal her foreign nationality or
secure any undue benefit.
12. In the light of the aforesaid discussion, the impugned order is
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Signed By:SANJAY
KUMAR
Signing Date:04.11.2026
21:02:03

set aside and the respondent authorities are directed to forthwith issue
the Surrender Certificate to the petitioner.
13. The present petition along with pending application stand
disposed of in the aforesaid terms.
AMIT MAHAJAN, J
NOVEMBER 3, 2026
DU
Signature Not Verified
W.P.(C) 8475/2026 Page 5 of 5
Signed By:SANJAY
KUMAR
Signing Date:04.11.2026
21:02:03