Passport Woes For The Interfaith Couple May Not Be Ending Soon

It might not be the end of a dark tunnel for the interfaith couple from Lucknow who caught our attention by taking the social media by storm. Even after Union minister Sushma Swaraj's intervention after the inconvenience caused to them at the passport office it looks like they might not get their passports anytime soon.

Latest Developments

According to a report by TOI, an intelligence unit of Lucknow police was asked to verify their current and permanent residential addresses. Now, the Lucknow Police submitted a report against the couple on June 28, 2018 which accuses Tanvi Seth and Anas Siddiqui of a wrong declaration of the place of their current residence reported the TOI.

The report has kicked off the issue once again with a possibility that the accused couple's passports might get cancelled. They could also be fined Rs 5000 for misleading the authorities.

What is the controversy?

The interfaith couple in Lucknow were allegedly harassed at a Lucknow Passport Seva Kendra. They reported that the superintendent, Vikas Mishra had involved in moral policing advising the woman to change her surname as she had married a Muslim man.

The woman had tweeted to Sushma Swaraj asking for help. After this, her case was taken up by the external affairs minister and new passports were issued to them. The superintendent was also issued a transfer letter and Swaraj received a lot of hate for it.

However, Mishra denied all these allegations.

What do the cops say?

The cops say that a number of discrepancies surfaced once the investigation began.

The report with the subtitle of 'adverse remarks' says that the woman's name in the passport form is Tanvi Seth while in her marriage certificate it's Sadia Anas. It also reveals that the current address of the couple in Noida is not mentioned in the form. Also, the cops couldn’t find proof to establish that they were staying at their Lucknow address as written in the form.

Regional Passport officer, Piyush Verma said that the report is being examined and appropriate action will be taken.

Picture Credit: Indian Express

Kriti Dwivedi is an intern with SheThePeople.Tv