In a bid to slash the time taken for police verification of persons applying for passports in Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs has introduced the 'mPassport Police App,' which will now digitise the process of sending police verification reports to the Regional Passport Office (RPO).
Home Minister Amit Shah made an announcement in this regard at the Delhi Police's 76th Raising Day ceremony on Thursday, 16 February.
Shah also dedicated 350 mobile tablets to the personnel of the Special Branch of Delhi Police, who would prepare and send the police verification reports to the passport office.
How long will it take for police verification now? According to a press release by the Ministry of External Affairs, the passport verification time will be reduced to five days instead of 15.
The passport issuance timeline will be slashed by 10 days, the release added.
Shah said that people living in Delhi would no longer have to worry about the time taken to get their passports as "they will now get a police clearance within five days as against the 15 days it used to take previously."
The move will enable the entire process of police verification and submission report to become paperless, as per the release.
How does one apply for a passport through the mPassport app? Below are the steps:
The mPassport Seva facility can be accessed by people living in Delhi using their mobile, computer, or tablet. They must get registered on the app.
Next, they need to log in and click the link that reads, "Apply for Police Clearance Certificate."
One has to submit the details then and click on "Pay and Schedule Appointment" on the "View Saved/Submitted Applications" window to schedule an appointment and make the payment.
After the payment is successful, users need to click "Print Application Receipt," or wait for an SMS of the receipt.
After this, they are required to visit the Passport Seva Kendra where the appointment is scheduled. Users must take all necessary documents there.
How is verification carried out otherwise? Senior officers told The Indian Express that current the process is a long one and involves hard copies of a passport application making their way through the bureaucracy.
Applications go from the passport office to the Delhi Police Bhawan. Then, they are distributed to the Special Branch's Inspectors in each district, who hands them over to an enquiry officer.
Enquiry officers, mostly assistant sub-inspector level officers, are the ones who actually carry out the verification by visiting the address of a passport applicant.
They send back the police verification report to the assistant commissioner of police in each district, who then attests and sends it to the passport office for further processing.
This whole prodecure takes 15 days. Joint Commissioner of Police (Special Branch) Rajneesh Gupta told The Indian Express that enquiry officers will be trained on how to use the application on the tablets assigned to them.
He added that there are about 50 enquiry officers across the city and that efforts to make them get acclimated to the technology are underway.
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