#IstandwithVikasMishra: Twitter comes out in support of passport officer, say he was doing his duty

The Lucknow passport office official Vikas Mishra, who allegedly harassed an interfaith couple during their passport issuing procedure, said on Thursday that he was taking necessary precautionary measures to ensure there was no forgery involved.

'I asked Tanvi Seth to get the name 'Shadia Anas' endorsed as it was mentioned on her Nikahnama (marriage contract), but she refused. We have to do thorough checks to ensure no person is changing their name to obtain a passport,' the official, Vikas Mishra, told ANI.

Tanvi Seth and her husband Mohammad Anas Siddiqui, earlier in the day, alleged that they were being harassed by an officer at a Lucknow passport office, as the former was married to a Muslim and did not change her name.

Seth further said that she was being harassed as the officer questioned her marital status and spoke to her rudely. She also claimed that others in the passport office did not even react to his "rude demeanour."

Meanwhile, her husband stated that he was told to change his religion and take "pheras."

However, the two were handed their passports on Thursday. 

 

Seeking action, Mohammad Anas Siddiqui and Tanvi Seth, who have been married for 12 years, wrote about their ordeal on Twitter and tagged External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

A day later, the Regional Passport Office in Lucknow transferred Vikas Mishra, the official accused of humiliating the couple, to Gorakhpur.

Regional Passport Officer (RPO) Piyush Verma said a show cause notice has been issued to the officer and he has been transferred with immediate effect. 

Verma said the passports were issued to the couple today after he met them in his office here.

"We have also sent the report to the Ministry of External Affairs for further action," Verma told reporters in Lucknow, assuring necessary action against the official.

The RPO expressed regret over the incident and gave an assurance that it would not be repeated.

Responding to complaints from Siddiqui and Seth, secretary, consular, passport and visa (CPV) division, D M Mulay said he had asked for a report from the RPO and would take appropriate action.

Seth thanked Swaraj, the RPO Lucknow and CPV, for "timely action" in a series of tweets this morning.

"Since the time we walked in to the RPO office this morning we were treated very well by Mr. Piyush Verma and all the officials. They apologised for the misconduct of the official yesterday. They looked at our documents and issued passports to us in no time," she tweeted.

The couple had detailed their harrowing experience on Twitter. 

Recounting the incident, Siddiqui told reporters in Lucknow that his was a case of re-issuance while his wife was seeking a new passport.

"The official's behaviour at the counter was inappropriate...I was called by him and asked if my wife's name is Tanvi Seth...he asked me to change my religion, name, take 'pheras' and only then things will be done." According to Siddiqui, the official put his passport on hold and sent him to the assistant passport officer "who was very understanding".

"I felt the official had some personal opinion about such marriages and could not keep them aside," Seth said, hoping that such incidents do not happen with others.

Mishra, the official who allegedly harassed the couple, said in his defence that he was secular and had told Seth that her 'nikahnama' showed her name as Shazia Anas, which should be endorsed in her file.

"For this she refused. If she had consented... we would have sent it to the 'A' section for data modification. We have to see which person is taking the passport in what name. . There is documentary proof, how can we ignore that. I am secular and I have myself had an inter-caste marriage," he told the media.

In a series of tweets to Swaraj, Seth yesterday spoke about the "high handedness" of the official and sought her intervention.

"@SushmaSwaraj hello ma'am I type this tweet with immense faith in justice and in you and ironically with a lot of anger/hurt and agony in my heart because of the way I was treated at the Lucknow passport office at Ratan Square by Mr. Vikas Mishra the reason because I married a Muslim and not changed my name ever," Seth tweeted.

She said that she had never imagined that there would be moral policing in a place like a passport office.

Mishra put both their passports on hold, she alleged.

"This is clear grudge. I was shocked at this behaviour. I have never felt so insulted in the last 12 years of my marriage with my husband. It is my personal choice to choose a name I want to after marriage," she tweeted.

Elaborating on the events yesterday, she told reporters that the official spoke "very loudly and in a very humiliating manner" before a lot of people.

"We had applied for a passport and after going through all the formalities, I went for the final verification and the official there made absurd queries over my marriage as I have not changed my surname...he said that it is duty of every woman to change her surname after marriage and used demeaning language besides making gestures...," Seth alleged.

The RPO said the rules have been made flexible and producing a marriage certificate is no longer mandatory.

He also clarified that religion had nothing to do with the issuance of passports.

"We have been continuously counselling our staff about new laws," he said.

With inputs from PTI and ANI