RTI for Passport Police Verification

Ravi applied for a passport in March. The Passport Seva portal showed “Police Verification Report is Adverse.” No one told him why. He visited the Regional Passport Office (RPO), queued for two hours, and got a one-line answer: “Negative verification, please re-apply.” He asked what the remark meant. The counter staff said they did not have the police file. Ravi was stuck — his new job abroad needed the passport in three weeks, and he did not even know what was being held against him.

This is the most common dead-end in the passport system. The police verify your address and antecedents, mark the report “adverse,” and the file goes silent. You are denied a passport without being told the reason. The good news: the Right to Information (RTI) Act lets you pull out that hidden report, read the exact remark, and then answer it. This page shows you how, step by step, with the correct office, the correct fee, the correct form, and the escalation ladder if you are refused.

A passport is not a gift from the government. The Supreme Court held in Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, (1978) 1 SCC 248 that the right to travel abroad is part of your personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution. Any procedure that takes that liberty away — including refusing or impounding a passport — must be fair, just and reasonable. That means the state cannot deny you a passport in secret. It must give you a reason and a chance to respond.

The Passports Act 1967 builds this fairness in:

1. Section 5(2)© lets the passport authority refuse to issue a passport.
2. Section 5(3) says the reasons must be recorded in writing and a copy given to you on demand — except where national security or public interest is involved.
3. Section 6(2) lists the exhaustive grounds for refusal, including: (e) a conviction for a moral-turpitude offence of two years or more within the last five years; (f) criminal proceedings pending against you; and (g) a warrant or summons issued against you.
4. Section 10(3) lists the grounds for impounding an already-issued passport, and Section 10(5) requires written reasons.
5. Section 11 gives you a right of appeal against any refusal or impounding order.

So when a police verification comes back “adverse,” the law does not allow the RPO to simply sit on the file. You are entitled to know the reason, and you have a right of appeal. The RTI application is the tool that forces the reason into the open.

The Central Information Commission (CIC) has confirmed this again and again:

1. In CIC/SA/A/2017/000456 (Khalid v. Commissioner of Police, Delhi, 14 June 2017), the Commission held that the police-verification file noting for a passport is the applicant's own record. The police tried to deny it under Section 8(1)(g) (law-enforcement information), but the CIC rejected that defence and ordered disclosure, using Section 10 to sever any genuine third-party information. Read the full case at Khalid v. Commissioner of Police, Delhi — CIC 2017.
2. In CIC/KY/A/2016/001257 (Insad v. CPIO, MEA, 8 March 2017), the police remark was the vague phrase “applicant not having satisfied documents.” The CIC called this impermissible and directed the Chief Passport Officer to ensure that whenever an adverse police report is received, its copy be sent to the applicant immediately for comments, and to lay down a clear re-verification policy.
3. In CIC/VS/C/2014/900344 and 900297 (Vasantha Dorai Raj, 21 February 2017), the CIC ordered the complete police verification report disclosed to the applicant, rejecting the Section 8(1)(j) (personal information) excuse because it was the applicant's own passport file.

Together these decisions say one thing: the adverse police report is your record, and you have a right to see it.

Police verification for a passport is expected to be completed within 21 days of the PV request. This benchmark comes from the MEA-MHA standard operating procedure, and it is confirmed by the CAG Audit Report, Chapter II (2016), by MEA Lok Sabha Question No. 2212, and by the Delhi Police Special Branch SOP. If three weeks pass and the report is still not submitted, that delay itself is a grievance you can raise.

The MEA Citizen's Charter, June 2025 sets the overall service timelines:

Note the words “PV period excluded.” The service clock pauses while the police verification is running. That is exactly why a stuck or adverse PV can stretch your wait well past a month — and why you must act on it instead of waiting.

Police verification for a passport involves two public authorities, and you should approach both:

1. The police unit that did the verification. This is usually the Superintendent of Police, Special Branch / CID (SP-SB) at the district level, sometimes routed through the local police station. This office holds the actual verification report and the adverse remark.
2. The Regional Passport Office (RPO). RPOs are Central public authorities under the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The Public Information Officer (PIO) at an RPO is usually an Assistant Passport Officer, and the First Appellate Authority is the Regional Passport Officer. The RPO holds the file that shows how it acted on the adverse report.

A common mistake is to file only at the RPO. The RPO often does not hold the police's working papers — it only holds the forwarded report. Filing at the SP-SB as well gets you the source document, the name of the officer who recorded the remark, and the basis for it.

You can file on paper or online. Online filing is faster and gives you a digital receipt. Go to rtionline.gov.in and select “Ministry of External Affairs → Office of the Regional Passport Officer, [your city]“ for the RPO application. For the police application, file with the state police's online RTI portal or on paper with the SP-SB office.

Fee: Rs. 10. Pay by Indian Postal Order (IPO), demand draft, banker's cheque, or cash. For the CPV Division, MEA (Patiala House, New Delhi), make it payable to “Accounts Officer, Ministry of External Affairs.” For a local RPO, make it payable to “Passport Officer.” BPL card-holders are exempt from the fee (attach a copy of the BPL certificate).

The Passports Act and the RTI Act together give you two legal hooks for your application:

1. Section 4(1)(d) of the RTI Act — the public authority must give reasons for its adverse decisions to the affected person. This is the key section when a decision has gone against you.
2. Section 6(2) of the RTI Act — an applicant cannot be asked why they want the information.

A ready-to-use draft is at RTI template for a Passport Office, 2026. Adapt the questions below.

Whether you file with the SP-SB or the RPO, ask these five questions in plain language:

1. A certified copy of the complete police verification report for passport file number [your file number], including the “adverse” remark and the verification officer's note.
2. The exact adverse remarks recorded against me, and the specific reasons for each remark, as required under Section 4(1)(d) of the RTI Act, 2005.
3. The source or basis of each adverse remark — for example, the document, witness statement, or record the remark was drawn from.
4. The name, designation, and office of the officer who recorded the adverse remark and the officer who forwarded it to the RPO.
5. The representation or grievance-redressal mechanism available to me to contest the adverse report, including the format, the receiving officer, and the time limit for a response.

Sample application (adapt the five questions above):

To: The Public Information Officer,
    Office of the SP, Special Branch / CID, [District]

Subject: Application under Section 6, RTI Act, 2005 —
         PV report for passport file No. [............]

My passport file No. [............] is shown "Police Verification Report
is Adverse." I am the affected party. Please furnish:
1. Certified copy of the complete PV report, including the adverse remark.
2. The exact adverse remarks and specific reasons — Section 4(1)(d), RTI Act.
3. The source or basis of each adverse remark.
4. Name, designation, and office of the officer who recorded and forwarded it.
5. The representation mechanism — format, receiving officer, time limit.

Fee: Rs. 10 by IPO No. [..] in favour of [payee].
[BPL: certificate enclosed; fee exempt.]

Date: [..]                    Signature: [..]    Name: [..]    Address: [..]

1. Reply within 30 days of the PIO receiving your application (Section 7(1), RTI Act). If the information concerns a person's life or liberty, the reply must come within 48 hours.
2. If no reply comes, or the reply is a refusal you disagree with, file a First Appeal within 30 days to the First Appellate Authority. At an RPO, the First Appellate Authority is the Regional Passport Officer. At the police, it is the officer senior to the PIO (usually the SP or an Addl. SP).
3. The First Appellate Authority must dispose of the appeal within 30 days (extendable to 45 with recorded reasons).
4. If you are still refused, file a Second Appeal to the Central Information Commission (for the RPO/MEA side) or the State Information Commission (for the state police side) within 90 days of the first-appeal order. The CIC can order disclosure and, in fitting cases, impose a penalty on the PIO under Section 20.

This is your escalation ladder: PIO → First Appellate Authority → Information Commission. The Commission's order is binding, and non-compliance can attract a penalty of up to Rs. 25,000 against the PIO.

When the report arrives, read the exact remark. The most common adverse remarks are:

1. “Address not verified” — the police officer could not confirm you live there. Fix it by re-applying with a fresh proof of address and asking the local police station to re-verify, or by requesting a re-verification through the RPO.
2. “Antecedents adverse” or “Case pending” — there is a criminal case or warrant linked to your name. Under Passports Act Section 6(2)(f) and (g), pending proceedings or a warrant are grounds for refusal. If the case has ended in acquittal, discharge, or closure, attach that order and ask the RPO to re-process. If the case is still pending, disclose it and request the passport on whatever basis the law allows.
3. Vague remarks like “not satisfied” or “documents insufficient” — the CIC in Insad called these impermissible. Quote that order and demand a specific, written reason.

Submit a written representation to the RPO with your rebuttal and supporting documents. Keep a dated copy and the receiving acknowledgement. The RPO is the authority that can reverse the adverse action; the RTI only gets you the proof to build your case.

RTI gets you information; a grievance gets you action. File both. For passport problems inside India, the correct channels are:

1. Passport Seva grievance module at portal2.passportindia.gov.in — raise a grievance linked to your file number.
2. CPGRAMS at pgportal.gov.in — the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System. Select “Ministry of External Affairs” as the ministry.

If you are an Indian citizen facing a passport or consular problem at an Indian Mission or Post abroad, then — and only then — use MADAD (madad.gov.in), the Consular Services Management System. Note that MADAD's own FAQ states that passport and visa issues are outside its scope; it handles only consular grievances at missions abroad. So for an India-based passport applicant, do not rely on MADAD — use Passport Seva and CPGRAMS instead.

For the broader passport-status RTI route, see Passport status RTI. For the MEA-side angle, see RTI to MEA on police verification. If your adverse PV is for a job or employment verification rather than a passport, the same method applies — see Police verification RTI for employment. And if your passport was refused and you are fighting the rejection itself, the recovery steps are at Recovery after an adverse police verification.

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 was partially brought into force on 13 November 2025 through G.S.R. 843(E). Among the provisions now in effect is Section 44(3), which amends Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act. The substantive data-principal rights under Sections 3 to 5 of the DPDP Act commence on 14 May 2027.

For your passport PV file this matters in a practical way: the CIC has repeatedly held that the police verification report is your own record, not a third party's personal information, so Section 8(1)(j) cannot be used to deny it to you. That position is reinforced by the Insad, Vasantha Dorai Raj, and Khalid orders above. If an officer cites “personal data” to refuse your request, point to those orders and to the fact that the file is about you.

1. Filing only at the RPO. The RPO often does not hold the police's working notes. File at the SP-SB too.
2. Skipping Section 4(1)(d). Always invoke it — it is the section that compels the authority to give reasons for an adverse decision, not just documents.
3. Accepting a vague remark. “Not satisfied” is not a valid reason. Demand specifics, and quote the Insad order.
4. Waiting for the PV to fix itself. The service clock pauses during PV. A stuck report will not self-correct; act within the 21-day benchmark.
5. Using MADAD for an India passport issue. MADAD is for consular problems abroad. For India, use Passport Seva and CPGRAMS.
6. Missing the appeal deadlines. First Appeal within 30 days; Second Appeal within 90 days. A day late can close the door.

1. Q: The portal says “Adverse” but gives no detail — what do I do first? File the RTI with the SP-SB and the RPO on the same day, and raise a grievance on Passport Seva. The RTI gets you the report; the grievance gets the file moving.
2. Q: The remark is about a criminal case that was closed. Attach the acquittal or closure order to your RPO representation. Section 6(2)(f) refusal ground is pending proceedings — a closed case should not block you.
3. Q: Can the police refuse under Section 8(1)(g)? The CIC in Khalid rejected that defence because a passport PV noting is the applicant's own record. Quote it in your appeal.
4. Q: I am below the poverty line — is the fee waived? Yes. BPL card-holders are exempt from the Rs. 10 fee; attach a copy of the BPL certificate.
5. Q: Can I file online? Yes — use rtionline.gov.in under “Ministry of External Affairs → Office of the Regional Passport Officer, [city].”

1. MEA RTI fee format and filing route — https://www.passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/pdf/RTI.pdf
2. Passports Act 1967, full text (Sections 5, 6, 10, 11) — https://www.passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/pdf/passports_act.pdf
3. Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, (1978) 1 SCC 248 — https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1766147/
4. CAG Audit Report, Chapter II — 21-day police verification benchmark — https://cag.gov.in/uploads/download_audit_report/2016/Chapter_2_Time%20for%20Passport%20Issuance.pdf
5. MEA Citizen's Charter, June 2025 — https://passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/pdf/Citizen_Charter.pdf
6. PIB — DPDP Rules 2025 notified, G.S.R. 843(E), 13 November 2025 — https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2025/nov/doc20251117695301.pdf
7. MADAD FAQ — consular grievances abroad only — https://madad.gov.in/AppConsular/online/faqOuter
8. CPGRAMS — https://pgportal.gov.in/Home/
9. CIC/KY/A/2016/001257 (Insad v. CPIO, MEA, 8 March 2017) — https://dtf.in/download/9855/
10. CIC/VS/C/2014/900344 and 900297 (Vasantha Dorai Raj, 21 February 2017) — police verification report disclosed to the applicant.

Last reviewed: 3 July 2026.

If this guide helped you pull a hidden police report into the light, The RTI Playbook walks you through the full method — drafting, filing, appeals, and getting a binding order — for any government office, not just passports.

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