In a major decision aimed towards liberalising the passport issuance process, the government has decided to do away with police verification for first-time normal category applicants. As per the new norms, the passport office will issue normal passports on a priority basis and leave the police verification for a later date.

If a person submits application with copies of Aadhaar, Voter ID and PAN Card, with an affidavit swearing that no criminal case pending against him, then the passport office will issue a passport. The affidavit will be processed post-police verification basis, subject to successful online validation of Aadhaar number.

In August last year, government had said that no police verification was required for reissue of passports. The external affairs ministry has also launched a smartphone application, mPassport Police Application, for speedy submission of police verification report. The app would facilitate field level verification officers to directly capture the report into the system digitally.