KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Monday sought the view of the Centre on a petition challenging its decision to give orange-coloured passports to those requiring emigration, while retaining the blue passports for others. Shamsuddeen from Karunagapally and another person filed the petition seeking the Centre’s move be declared unconstitutional. The petitioners also sought the declaration the deletion/detachment of the last page details of the passport was unconstitutional, as it violated the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution.
Emigration Check is required for passport holders, who lack education beyond 10th-grade, have less than taxable income and are seeking migration for employment.The petitioners said the orange passports were being introduced to segregate persons with low education. This segregation, they said, was demeaning and violated the principles of equality.
“It will create hardships to migrant workers as chances of harassment and exploitation will increase when their vulnerable status is made apparent on the passport via separate colour coding,” the petitioners said.
They said they were also aggrieved by the Centre’s decision to omit the last page details of the passport, saying the move was not supported by any cogent reason and amounted to segregating a class of citizens on the basis of their underprivileged status and treating them as second class.