Police Verification Pending for Passport or Job? Use RTI to Get the Status and Reasons
Police verification (for a passport, government job, or tenant/servant verification) often stalls silently at the local station or the district Special Branch. RTI makes the police state on record where your PV file is, since when, and why - which is usually enough to get it moving. For passport PV, first track the PV status by File Number at passportindia.gov.in and raise a Passport Seva / MADAD (madad.gov.in) grievance or call 1800-258-1800; if that stalls, an RTI to the Regional Passport Office (Central portal) and the district police can run in parallel.
Why this usually gets stuck
- PV report sent by the station but not consolidated at the district/Special Branch
- Field verification "pending" with no visit ever made
- Adverse remarks recorded without informing you
- File shuttling between the passport office and police with each blaming the other
What an RTI gets you, on record
- The current status of your PV request and the exact office/desk holding it
- The dates it moved between station, Special Branch and the requesting authority
- The substance of any adverse remark recorded (subject to exemptions), so you can contest it
- The prescribed PV timeline and where your case breached it
Where to file it
Address the RTI to the PIO of the district police / Police Commissionerate (not the police station itself - see how that routing works in our police-station RTI guide). For passport PV, also consider an RTI to the Regional Passport Office via the Central RTI portal.
Sample RTI questions (edit the bracketed details)
Keep questions factual and specific to your own matter. Ask for records, status, dates, reasons and officer details - not opinions. Do not include anyone else's personal information.
Copy-paste RTI application
Fill the bracketed details and send to the PIO of the office named. Attach the RTI fee prescribed for that authority (Rs. 10 in many cases; BPL applicants attach BPL proof instead of fee). Do not include anyone else's personal information.
To, The Public Information Officer, Office of the Superintendent of Police / Commissioner of Police, [District / City] Subject: Request for information under the Right to Information Act, 2005 Sir/Madam, Under Section 6 of the Right to Information Act, 2005, I request the following information regarding the police verification for my [passport application / government appointment / tenant verification], reference/file no. ________ dated ________: 1. The current status of the said police verification and the office/desk with which it is pending. 2. The dates on which the verification request was received, sent for field verification, reported back, and forwarded to the requesting authority. 3. The status of the verification report (received / clear / adverse / incomplete). 4. The prescribed timeline/citizen charter applicable to such verifications, if any, and the reasons recorded for delay in my case. 5. Whether any adverse remark has been recorded and, if so, its substance to the extent permissible under the Act. 6. The name and designation of the officer currently responsible for the verification. I am enclosing the RTI application fee as prescribed for this public authority by Indian Postal Order / court-fee stamp / online payment proof / other accepted mode. [If you hold a BPL card: I am below the poverty line, a copy of my BPL card is enclosed, and no application fee is payable.] Please provide the information within 30 days as required under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act, 2005. Place: ____________ Date: ____________ [Your Full Name] [Full Postal Address] [Phone / Email]
If there is no reply in 30 days
The PIO is ordinarily required to respond within 30 days under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act. If there is no proper response, file a First Appeal with the First Appellate Authority of the same public authority; if that fails, a Second Appeal lies with the Information Commission. See the Appeal Generator.
I only need help finding the correct PIO >
Frequently asked questions
Can police refuse PV information?
Some material can be exempt (e.g., Section 8(1)(g)/(h) where disclosure endangers someone or impedes an investigation), but the status, movement dates and delay reasons of your own verification are ordinarily obtainable.
Passport office or police - who gets the RTI?
Both work: the RPO (Central portal) for the passport-side status, the district police PIO for the PV-side. Filing both usually locates the stuck desk fastest.
What if there is no reply?
The PIO is ordinarily required to respond within 30 days under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act. If there is no proper response, file a First Appeal with the First Appellate Authority of the same public authority (no fee for a first appeal in most states); if that also fails, a Second Appeal lies with the Information Commission. FileMyRTI helps with the First Appeal route.
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