Madras High Court's BIG verdict: Not necessary for woman to get husband's signature for applying passport

In a big move, the Madras High Court, on Friday declared that it is not necessary for a woman to get the permission of her husband and take his signature before applying for a passport before the authority.

Justice N Anand Venkatesh declared the ruling while disposing a woman's petition who sought direction to the authorities to issue a fresh passport without insisting signature from her husband in a time bound manner.

“It is not necessary for a wife to get the permission of her husband and take his signature before applying for a passport before the authority,” PTI quoted Judge Venkatesh as saying.

"The practice of insisting for permission from the husband to apply for a passport, does not augur well for a society which is moving towards woman emancipation. This practice is nothing short of male supremacism", the judge further noted while hearing the case.

The judge also noted that the insistence made by the RPO shows the mindset of the society in treating women who were married as if they were chattel belonging to the husband.