Defaced passport covers not acceptable, says MEA in stern advisory

The Ministry of External Affairs has issued a stern advisory to combat the growing misuse of Indian Passports as advertising platforms, a senior official said here on Thursday.

It highlighted the alarming trend where travel agents have been defacing the cover of Indian Passports by pasting their agency or company stickers, said Dasari Balaiah, Regional Passport Officer and Head of MEA Branch Secretariat, Hyderabad in a release.

The practice not only undermines the sanctity of the passport, but contravenes Union Government guidelines pertaining to passport maintenance, it said.

"The outer cover of the Indian Passport carries the national emblem with the Ashoka Chakra on it and incorporates several security features aimed at ensuring its authenticity and integrity. Pasting adhesives or promotional stickers by agent can mask the national emblem and tamper with the security features and can be compromised--preventing verification of authenticity," the release said.

It may also cause difficulties in assessing the genuineness of the passports and thereby lead to issues for Indian travellers at immigration points, the release added.