About Police Verification for Passport
The police verification stage is an important security measure with regard to the issuance of passports in India. The police verification for passport can, depending on a number of factors, be done pre-issuance or post-issuance of the actual passport
How Passport Police Verification is Done
Firstly, there are three primary modes of police verification:
- Before the passport has been issued: Pre Police Verification.
- After the passport has been issued: Post Police Verification.
- No Police Verification.
Pre Police Verification for Passport
In most cases, the police verification happens after the applicant has submitted the application and all related required documents, annexures, etc. but before the application has been approved (and before the passport is issued).
The passport office communicates the identity and address details of the applicant to the relevant police station, and the police verification process begins. An officer is assigned the task of locating the address, and ensuring that the applicant so named resides in that address, and the officer also verifies the age and other personal information about the applicant.
Post Police Verification for Passport
While it’s true that pre-passport issuance police verification is the most common form of police verification, there are cases in which the passport office (PO) decides that post passport issuance police verification is the right way to go.
A good example of post-passport issuance police verification is in the case of government employees / PSU employees who submit a “No Objection Certificate” or “NOC” through Annexure “M”. These applicants have their passport issued before the police verification process, and these cases fall under the post-passport issuance police verification process.
Police Verification After The Passport Has Been Issued
The Government aims at quicker delivery of passports so that things get convenient for the common people. It stated that the police verification associated with the process will take place after the travel document has been issued. This will happen if the required documents are submitted at the time of application. The Government is trying to liberalize the police verification process for issuance of the passport.
As per the statement issued by MEA, all applicants who furnish their Aadhaar cards, Electoral Photo Identity Card, Permanent Account Number will get their passports issued faster without having to pay any extra fees or charges.
No Police Verification for Fresh Passport
In some rare cases, the Passport Office deems it completely unnecessary for a Police Verification to happen for certain passport applications.
For example, government / PSU / statutory body employees who apply for the passport by submitting a document known as an “identity certificate” through annexure “b” (in addition to their application documents) will receive their passport without any requirement for police verification.
How to Check Police Verification Status for Passport?
When applying for police verification, the police issue different statuses for police verifications conducted.
Given below are the types of verification statuses:
- Clear – this status indicates that the police have found no cause for concern and that the applicant has a clean record (no pending criminal cases against him/her). The police verification found all information provided by the applicant to be true and correct.
- Adverse – this status indicates that the police, in the course of their verification, have found inconsistencies in the information submitted by the applicant, resulting in the passport being withheld or canceled. These inconsistencies could be due to the applicant providing an incorrect or false address in their application. Another cause could be criminal cases that have been filed against that applications that are pending in a court of law.
- Incomplete– this status indicates that during the course of the verification process, the police have found the documentation submitted to be incomplete, stopping the process halfway. Another reason could be due to the police station not having filled in the verification report correctly. In some cases where the applicant has not been a resident at his/her current place of residence for a long duration and verification from previous addresses have not been possible, the police could label the verification incomplete due to lack of sufficient information.
- Once the police verification is complete, a report is drawn up and the passport can be canceled or approved on this basis. In cases where the passport is not sanctioned due to an ‘Adverse’ or “Incomplete’ remark, the applicant can choose to approach the police station that issued the verification report and seek clarity on the reason for the report.
Adverse Police Verification for Passport
If the reason that your passport has been delayed due to the PV being “adverse” here’s what may have happened:
- False address given.If the police report determines that you do not actually reside in the address that you’ve submitted in your application, the police report will reflect an “adverse” status.There have been cases where the police officer came for verification at a time when you were temporarily unavailable, and these cases can be resolved by simply writing to the RPO with your file number and requesting a re-verification.
- Unresolved criminal cases.If there are any unresolved, or pending criminal cases against you, neither the passport office nor the police station can take any steps towards approving your passport until the case has been resolved in court, or, a court order for a temporary short-term passport has been obtained.If your criminal cases have been resolved but you have still received an “adverse” PV report, you can take a copy of the court order to the RPO and request a re-verification.In any case, if the issuance of the passport has been delayed, merely contacting the RPO with the relevant file number will give you access to the information about why it was delayed, or why the process has been held up. Once you know the problem, you can contact the relevant authority to have your passport issued faster.
Police Verification Incomplete Passport
If the reason your passport has been delayed, etc. is because of a PV report that says “Incomplete”, it may be due to any of the following reasons:
- If you’ve only been residing at your current residence for less than one year.Clearance must be obtained from all addresses that have been occupied by the applicant in the last one year. If evidence suggests that the applicant has been at the current residence for less than a year, and clearance from the previous addresses cannot be sought, the PV report can be affected.
- The police station has not filled out a report properly.If the passport office receives an incomplete or inadequately filled Police Verification report, it will send the report back to the concerned police station for re-filing or completion. The police department must be contacted in this case, in order to find out the passport application status.
- Incomplete documents collected.If the police verification report contains a note that the officer performing the verification did not collect enough documents to establish that you actually live at your claimed residential address. If you do not furnish the right documents which clarify the period of your stay at a particular residence, the report could be incomplete.
