Almost 60 Tatkal passports issued in Calcutta over the past six months could be impounded because they were granted on the basis of verification certificates allegedly signed by a central government officer who doesn't exist.

Sources in the ministry of external affairs said the regional passport office had started an inquiry after it emerged that there was no central government officer by the name and designation mentioned in the verification certificates, called Annexure F in passport parlance.

A list of passports issued on the basis of verification certificates issued by the "non-existent official" has been drawn up so that showcause notices can be sent, sources said.

A Tatkal passport is one that is issued on an emergency basis without waiting for a police verification, a process that is mandatory for normal applications. The deciding factor is the verification certificate from an officer of a stipulated rank, who vouches for the credentials of the applicant. The police verification is supposed to be completed within six months of the Tatkal passport being issued.

In the event of a verification certificate found to be fake, the applicant is liable to be charged with violating the Passport Act, an offence that carries a penalty as well as the prospect of having the passport impounded.

Once showcaused, the holder of a passportthat is under the scanner would be required to visit the regional passport office to explain under what circumstances the person procured a fake verification certificate. The passport office would send a second summons within 15 days if the passport holder fails to respond to the first one.

Failure or refusal to acknowledge the summons would lead to proceedings to impound the passport, sources in the ministry of external affairs said.

Last week, an officer at the Passport Seva Kendra in Kasba became suspicious about an applicant who produced a verification certificate signed by an officer whose name rang a bell. The purported certificate gave the signatory's designation as joint director in the Calcutta office of the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), a department under the Union ministry of commerce and industry.

"On checking our database, it was confirmed that the same officer had issued multiple verification certificates over the past few months. This bolstered our suspicion and we dialled the phone number mentioned in the certificate. The person who took the call said nobody by that name was available on that number," a source in the Passport Seva Kendra said.

When passport officials contacted the APEDA office, they were told that there was no officer by that name in the department. "We have launched an inquiry into the matter since getting in touch with the office of the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority for verification of this person in whose name the certificates had been issued," Geetika Srivastava, the regional passport officer in Calcutta, said when Metro contacted her for comment.

This isn't the first time that passport holders in Calcutta have been caught furnishing fake documents. Last year, criminal proceedings were started against 10 persons who had allegedly submitted fake verification certificates to get Tatkal passports.

TATKAL FAQ

• I don’t know any bureaucrat who is authorised to issue a verification certificate but I need a Tatkal passport. What should I do?

Approach the superintendent of police/deputy commissioner/district magistrate to verify your credentials and issue 
you a certificate

• What if I pay an agent to get me a verification certificate?

If the document turns out to be fake, you would be held responsible even if you were unaware of forgery