u/SwingMoist6789

I'm looking for guidance from anyone who has dealt with the FRRO/MHA/Courts regarding penalty waivers in exceptional cases involving Child born in India to OCI families.

The FRRO has imposed an overstay penalty of ₹1,50,000 on our online X-1 Visa application for our 18-month-old child, who was born in India in 2024 to Canadian OCI cardholder parents. The penalty was imposed because the child could not obtain a Canadian Passport and apply for the X-1 Visa within the prescribed 90-day period after birth. However, the delay was entirely due to circumstances beyond our control, namely an extraordinary backlog at the Canadian authorities in issuing the mandatory Citizenship Certificate, without which a Passport could not be obtained. The FRRO officers were courteous and explained that they have no discretion to waive or reduce the penalty, that it is calculated strictly as per the applicable rules (Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 for the period from 1 September 2025 onwards, and the earlier applicable law for the period before that), and advised us to approach the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) if we wished to pursue the matter further.

My questions are:

1. Has anyone successfully obtained a waiver or reduction of such a penalty from the MHA or any other authority? If yes, whom did you contact (MHA, PMO, FRRO Headquarters, etc.), through which channel (official email, CPGRAMS, grievance portal, post, phone, or in person), and how long did the process take?
2. Is there any known provision, policy, circular, or precedent under which the MHA has exercised discretion in such exceptional cases?
3. If the MHA rejects the request, what is the most appropriate legal remedy? Has anyone obtained relief through a High Court or any other judicial forum?
4. Any practical suggestions or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Additional details:

• Child born in India in 2024 to Canadian OCI parents.
• Birth was promptly intimated to the FRRO by the hospital.
• Citizenship Certificate application was submitted at the earliest opportunity.
• A Canadian Passport could not be applied for until the Citizenship Certificate was issued.
• Due to the well-documented backlog at the Canadian authorities, the Citizenship Certificate took over 15 months to be issued.
• We have documentary evidence including:
  • Citizenship Certificate application acknowledgement.
  • Official status enquiry acknowledgements.
  • Multiple portal screenshots showing the increasing processing backlog over time.
  • Passport issuance date.
  • X-1 Visa application submitted within 14 days of receiving the Passport.

I'm not criticizing any authority or rules here, only trying to understand whether there is any practical or legal avenue for relief in a genuinely exceptional case supported by documentary evidence, showing that the situation was entirely beyond the control of the applicant, who did everything humanly possible to get the documents on time and comply with the rules, but couldn't succeed.

Thank you in advance for any guidance or shared experiences.