Passport Office Bhopal — Over 8 months delay in getting a passport for a senior citizen

Dear Sir/Madam,

My mother Mrs Malti Bai Mishra (resident of Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh and a retired Central Govt employee) had applied for the passport in May 2009. The assigned file number for this application is BPL-W[protected]dispatched by speed post on 15th May 2009). However for over two months, the status of this file number was not available online. On repeated enquiries at the post office, she was informed in July 2009 that her file needs to be sent again to the Passport Office Bhopal. No reason was given as to why her application should be sent again and no additional documents were asked at that time.

Her application was then assigned a new file reference no: BPL-W[protected] and it was dispatched by speed-post on 8th July 2009. Her police verification was completed in October 2009. Since November 2009, the online status for her application showed "Police report is clear and passport will be dispatched on 15th Dec 2009". However, the passport was NEVER dispatched by 15th Dec 2009. Instead, starting 15th Dec 2009, the online status is weekly updated as a routine:
"It is to regret that due to unavoidable circumstances the despatch of Passport has been delayed and will now be despatched in a week's time."

Four weeks have passed and this status has been re-updated to the above-mentioned lines again and again. She tried calling the passport offices several times but the numbers are always busy. At the post office, she has been repeatedly told that they have no information about her application. It is surprising and disappointing that with all the documents in order, a law abiding senior citizen is harassed in this manner.

I request you to kindly sympathetically look into this matter and take corrective action so that the passport is dispatched at the earliest.

Sincerely,

Kumar Vijay Mishra