Experience after receiving SCN - Indian Passport, Mumbai

This blog refers to the Show Cause Notice (SCN)  received after applying for a passport in India. I received a SCN and going to share my experience in Mumbai. SCN is normally issued by Regional Passport Office(RPO) after inputs from Police department.

Reason for applying

Since my passport was going to run out of validity, I decided to re-issue a new passport. As well wanted to put my wife's name on my passport and change the address. 

The process of getting a passport has undergone a sea change when I first applied for passport way back in 2004. Those were the times when agents ruled the roost :) 

My old passport had my hostel address from a different city. Since I am working in Mumbai for 10+ years and staying at same place on rent for 5 years, it was natural to apply for the passport on this rental address. 

New Process for seeking a Passport 

For those, unaware of new process to get a new or re-issued passport:

One has to create a profile and submit an application at :

http://passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/welcomeLink

Site has all details of documentary evidences required etc. Also fees is to be submitted online. This application is valid for 1 year. One has to get an appointment at nearest Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) which is operated by TCS as far as I know. On the day of appointment carry documents and go through the process at PSK.

Got the Passport !

I opted for Tatkaal scheme and went to Andheri PSK. Carried documentary evidences like Aadhar, rent agreement, gas book, bank statement, original marriage certificate. Please note that PSK's in Mumbai don't accept bank statement as address proof from private banks like ICICI, CITI etc. Also Aadhar needs to be an year old at-least.

It should be noted that Post Police Verification always happens for passports issue under "tatkaal" scheme.

Well, I got my new passport in 2 days and also traveled abroad for a while. On checking the application status, status was Police Verification Pending. This was in April 2014.

I received a call from local police station with a set of documents. They insisted on getting bank statements as well. Police verification was completed successfully or  I thought so.

Received SCN :(

In Oct-14, I got a letter from RPO saying that my police verification report is Adverse. Reason being, I am staying on a rental basis and that I haven't mentioned my permanent address in my Passport application form (P.P form). They wanted a clarification on the issue. This status was also reflecting against my application on website with SCN number.

In reality, I indeed mentioned my permanent address which was same as rental address.  There was no intent on my part to hide anything. Since my parents stay in a different city and that too on rent, in reality I don't have any permanent address. Also, assuming that if my parents were staying with me and I don't have any native place to refer as permanent then what do I mention in the form as permanent address??

Does it means that a person staying on rent has to have a permanent property, I found it a little strange.

Next Step after receiving SCN

Best way forward is to visit Regional passport office and figure out what needs to be done next. They have a fixed entry time and days at RPO. So I went to RPO, Worli. Once you enter, there are different windows and cabins. I was asked to stand in a queue outside Andheri PSK. It was amazing to see so many people who had received SCN. Out of curiosity, I checked why a few others received SCN. Reasons:

• Police verification not completed since applicant was unavailable
• Applicant didn't went to Police station after receiving call for verification
• Address mis-match or name mis-match
• Deliberately suppressing some information (like some criminal background or an active FIR)

At my turn, I entered the cabin and spoke to Passport Officer who was a soft spoken and a person with calm demeanor, which really helped. He asked me about my native place and I told him about my parents staying on rent in some other city. He asked me if I can provide a proof of that address and I expressed my inability to do so. He then advised me to write an application mentioning my Parents address and also attach copy of old passport and new passport. I wrote the application, attached copy of SCN and passports and went back to him and he scribbled some comments. He asked me to go to Scan counter and get application scanned. At Scan counter, a person has a bar code reader with which he reads your SCN and accesses your case on passport website. Then he attaches scan copy of your application and other documents. Finally he puts a "Scanned" stamp on the application. Finally, this hand-written application has to be submitted to Passport Officer and you are done.

What I observed was that everybody has to write an application whatever the case might be :)

Status on Passport Website subsequently

After returning back, I checked the current status and it had changed to "Applicant submitted reply".

A few days letter, the status changed to Passport XYZ dispatched and there is no mention of SCN.

Learning out of this experience

I was surprised at receiving SCN and also angry at the functioning of PSK, police verification, passport office. After all I had submitted more than necessary documentary evidence. Also it is pretty evident, that there passport and police department are not in sync and it has to improve drastically. 

However,after visiting RPO found that issue got resolved quickly. Guess I got lucky! However there were many disgruntled faces and cursing word, voices expressions. 

As far as possible please share all information while applying for a Passport. There is a fine of Rs 5,000 for suppressing any information intentionally. If police verification doesn't happens then visit local police station and inquire. Being lazy has bigger repercussions subsequently :)

Finally, pray that you receive Passport there is no SCN following !

Thanks

P.S. - If anyone has any questions, comments, experiences feel free to share.