Madras High Court orders woman locked in matrimonial feud with husband to cooperate for daughter’s trip to NASA
Madras High Court NASA Trip Passport: The minor’s father moved the high court, stating his daughter’s interest in space science and willingness for a school tour programme to NASA after his estranged wife refused to sign the child’s passport.
3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Dec 11, 2025 08:46 PM IST
Madras HC NASA Trip Passport: The Madras High Court directed passport authorities to proceed without mother's signature if she fails to sign the daughter's visa and passport application for NASA trip. (This image is generated using AI.)
Madras High Court NASA Trip Passport: The Madras High Court recently directed the mother of a minor girl to “cooperate” and sign the passport and visa application forms of her daughter, who wanted to go on a school trip to NASA and directed the passport authorities to proceed without her signature if she fails to sign the application.
While allowing the plea of the child’s father, Justice P Dhanabal emphasised that the child was willing to go to NASA and this was an opportunity for her to visit during her studies, and said, “Due to matrimonial disputes pending between the parents, the minor child cannot lose her opportunity.”
Arguments
The father, who had custody of the minor child, filed this plea to seek the signature of his estranged wife for their minor daughter’s passport application, who had allegedly got a chance to visit NASA and was interested in space science. The father emphasised that to get the passport and visa, the signatures of both parents were essential, and the mother refused to sign it.
The court directed the minor’s mother to cooperate and sign the minor’s passport and visa application.
In an order on December 5, the court noted that there was a matrimonial dispute between the minor’s father and the mother, and the minor child was currently under the former’s custody.
The father submitted that the minor’s school authorities had sent a circular calling the parents, who had registered their child’s names for the NASA tour, to confirm their participation.
However, the minor’s mother refused to sign the passport application, he claimed.
The mother opposed the father’s submissions, arguing that her daughter was not “capable” to go to NASA and was not in a “position to manage herself.”
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The advocates of both the parents also sought to get the child’s name mentioned correctly in the court order passed on December 5, when the court asked the mother to cooperate.
The high court directed the registry to issue a fresh copy of the order with the correct name of the minor in the order passed on December 10.
Richa Sahay is a Legal Correspondent for The Indian Express, where she focuses on simplifying the complexities of the Indian judicial system. A law postgraduate, she leverages her advanced legal education to bridge the gap between technical court rulings and public understanding, ensuring that readers stay informed about the rapidly evolving legal landscape.
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