Bombay High Court: In an interesting judgment, a bench comprising of A.S. Oka and A.K. Menon has clarified that there is no law which prevents a wife from continuing to use the surname of her husband even after a decree of divorce has been passed by a court of law. In the present case, a 67 year old woman, who was divorced from her husband, had applied for renewal of her passport. The Passport Office had refused to renew her passport, stating that as she was a divorcee she should get a ‘no objection certificate’ from her husband for continuing to use his surname.
The Court stated that it is the right of the petitioner to use any name, including the name of her divorced husband and held that the direction issued by the passport authorities to obtain a ‘No objection certificate’ from the ex-husband was completely illegal. The Court further observed that the approach of the passport officer was perverse and in violation of fundamental rights of the petitioner as the right to obtain passport in accordance with law has been held to be a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution. Setting aside the communication by passport office, the Court ordered that if the application for renewal is still pending, it should be decided on merits, within a period of one month. Hema Gadgil vs. The Passport Officer, 2015 SCC OnLine Bom 162 decided on 6-1-2015
Hey,
Thanks for the information. I would like to request a copy of judgement. I am looking for citation something like this in my mother’s case.
Thanks in advance, please share a judgement copy if possible.
It is d good judgment in the interest of a divorced wife which is protected his rights.if divorced wife can continue to use his husband's surname, can a married daughter or wife cotinue to use his father's surname and enjoy the benefits of caste of his father's surname? If any related judement, please notify me.