Now Reading: Delhi HC upholds 67% passport fee hike for overseas Indians
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Delhi HC upholds 67% passport fee hike for overseas Indians
The Story in Brief
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday, 28 October dismissed a PIL challenging the Centre’s decision to raise passport fees for Indians living abroad, ruling that a 67% increase after 14 years is not unreasonable. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma said the last fee revision was in 2012 and that determining passport processing fees falls within government policy, warranting judicial restraint.
The PIL, filed by Pravasi Legal Cell, argued that overseas Indians pay around Rs 11,900 for passports compared to Rs 2,500 for residents, disproportionately burdening low-income workers in Gulf countries. The court questioned how economic status abroad would be certified and declined to direct the government to create a concessional mechanism. It dismissed the petition, noting no statutory or constitutional right mandates such relief.
Indian Opinion Analysis
All five sources report the same court outcome in near-identical wire copy. Livelaw.in gives more detail on the petitioner's arguments about Gulf workers' financial burden and on the bench's questioning of a concession mechanism. The remaining four outlets mirror the same facts from PTI or a syndicated feed. The uniform frame is neutral straight reporting: the court held the 67% hike reasonable after 14 years, cited policy domain, and dismissed the PIL filed by Pravasi Legal Cell. No source adds editorial judgment or omits the petitioner's core grievance. The substance is that the court accepted the government's timeline argument and declined to create a separate fee structure. The concrete next step is the dismissal itself, no appeal or further hearing is named by any source.
Coverage: 5 sources, 5 neutral
Sources (5): livelaw.in (neutral report), rediff.com (neutral report), economictimes.indiatimes.com (neutral report), indiatoday.in (neutral report), asianetnews.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 5 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
