Interfaith couple harassment case: Employees support ‘punished’ colleague

THEIR TAKE They are of the opinion that officer had full right to question the couple

LUCKNOW : Employees of the Lucknow passport office on Friday came out openly in support of Vikas Mishra, the officer who was transferred to Gorakhpur for allegedly harassing an inter-faith couple on June 20 when they came for their passports.

The employees demanded rollback of Mishra’s transfer order and a proper inquiry into the matter. A delegation of the employees’ union, led by Sanjay Varma, president, All India Passport Employees’ Association, met regional passport officer Peeyush Verma on Friday to express their outrage over the controversy related with issuing of passport to inter-faith couple Anas Siddiqui and his wife Tanvi Seth.

“The delegation met the regional passport officer and demanded roll-back of Vikas Mishra’s transfer order,” said Sanjay Varma. “We have also demanded a proper inquiry into the issue to ensure that an employee is not penalised for doing his job,” said Varma.

On his part, Peeyush Verma assured the employees of a proper inquiry in the issue. Meanwhile, Mishra was on duty at the Lucknow office on Friday. Sources said he will continue to work in Lucknow till the probe report is submitted.

LUCKNOW: Some senior lawyers here have questioned the transfer of passport officer Vikas Mishra, accused of misbehaving with an inter-faith couple at Lucknow passport office on June 20.

They are of the opinion that Mishra had full right to question the couple, Tanvi Seth and Anas Siddiqui, and refuse issuance of passport if there were discrepancies in the woman’s name.

They also questioned the manner in which the regional passport office issued passport to the couple on Thursday “in violation of norms and without cross-examining” the objections raised by their own officer.

Mishra was transferred to Gorakhpur following the controversy.

Demanding action against Tanvi, senior lawyer IB Singh said: “Passport is a very important document. In view of terrorist attacks in India and threat to the country’s security, it is issued after various checks and crossexaminations.”

“The woman (Tanvi alias Shadia) is at fault. Action must be taken against her for non-disclosure of information in the passport form,” he said.

High court lawyer GS Chauhan also pointed out that the officer was legally right to question the applicant.

“It is mandatory for an applicant to mention all names in the passport form. It is very clearly mentioned in the form. There is a separate column for this,” said Chauhan. “In fact, the woman is at fault by not mentioned her post-marriage name (Shadia Anas) in the passport form,” he said.

Tanvi Seth, whose name was changed to Shadia Anas after marriage as mentioned in the Nikahnama (Islamic marriage contract), had visited the Lucknow passport office on June 20 along with her husband.

OFFICER VIKAS MISHRA WAS TRANSFERRED TO GORAKHPUR FOLLOWING THE CONTROVERSY

Anas’s passport was to be renewed while Tanvi had applied for a new passport.

The couple had an argument with Mishra who raised objections on Tanvi not mentioning her post-marriage name in the form.

The couple alleged Mishra not only refused to clear her application but also declined renewal of her husband’s passport.

“Har ladki shaadi ke baad apna naam badalti hai. Apne kyun nahi badla? (Every girl changes her name after marriage. Why haven’t you done so?)” Mishra allegedly asked Tanvi.

“Mishra told my husband, ‘Ya to tum phere le lo ya apni patni ka naam badalwa do’ (Either you take wedding vows or ask your wife to change her surname),” she claimed.

Mishra, however, said he only followed the procedure.

“Tanvi Seth presented her marriage certificate where her name was registered at Shazia Anas. I only asked her to endorse her name (after marriage) in the form. She got infuriated and started shouting. So, I asked her to approach senior officials,” he said.

Advocate Prashant Kumar questioned the decision to transfer Mishra to Gorakhpur. “How can he be transferred for no fault? He is being penalised for doing his duty,” said Kumar.

Advocate Rohit Kant said Mishra’s transfer order should be revoked. “Why has Vikas been transferred? What was his fault?” questioned Kant.

“Scrutiny of an applicant’s documents is the most crucial part of the passport verification process and there cannot be any compromise on it,” he said.