JUDGMENT Ashutosh Mohunta, J. - The petitioner is a travel agent operating in the city of Jalandhar. It is dealing in Air-Passage booking, guiding clients and is engaged in other allied services concerning travel to foreign countries and also making fresh passports. Till 1993, only those travel agents could deal with Passport Office, who were recognised by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, but that requirement was dispensed with sometime in 1993 and all travel agents were given freedom to deal with the Passport Office. This is clearly borne out from letter annexure P2 dated October 5, 1993, paragraph 2 of which reads as under:- "2. The Ministry of External Affairs has dispensed with the system of recognition of Travel Agent for passport services. All travel agents are free just like any member of the public to deal with the passport offices. However, the passport of a first time applicant will be handed over only to the applicant or sent to the applicants address by Registered Post Acknowledgment Due. For all other services any person with a letter of authority from the applicant can receive the passport except if the passport contains valid visas in which case it shall be given only to the applicant." The petitioners grievance is that the passport applications submitted by it to the Regional Passport Officer, Jalandhar were rejected by the latter on the ground that the same have not been submitted by a recognised agent. 2. In the written statement filed on behalf of the respondents, reference has been made to letter No. VIII/415/2/10/2000 dated 18.7.2000 (Annexure R.1) and it has been averred that in view of the revised policy framed by the Ministry of External Affairs, the applications submitted by only those travel agents can be entertained who are duly recognised by the competent authority. 3. Learned counsel for the petitioner relied on order dated 18.11.1999 passed by this Court in C.W.P. No. 38 of 1999 - M/s Royal Travel Advisor, Jalandhar City v. The Joint Secretary and Chief Passport Officer, New Delhi and others and argued that rejection of the applications submitted by the petitioner should be declared illegal because the instructions issued vide Annexure R.1 cannot be made applicable to it. 4. We have considered the argument of the learned counsel for the petitioner. 4. We have considered the argument of the learned counsel for the petitioner. In case of the M/s New Royal Travel Advisor, Jalandhar City v. The Joint Secretary and Chief Passport Officer, New Delhi and others (supra), this Court had considered an issue similar to the one raised by the petitioner and held as under : "Apart from the fact that the learned counsel for the respondents has not been able to justify the impugned decision, we are clearly of the view that the impugned decision is wholly arbitrary and capricious. A bare reading of the contents of Annexure P.1 makes it clear that the system of recognition of the travel agencies by the Ministry of External Affairs is no longer in vogue. Therefore, Passport Officer, Jalandhar or for that reason any other authority of the department cannot refuse to deal with the petitioner on the spacious plea that it is not recognised by the Ministry of External Affairs. In the premise aforesaid, we allow the writ petition and quash the decision taken by Passport Officer, Jalandhar (Annexure P.3) declining to entertain the applications submitted by the petitioner for issuance of passports and direct the authority concerned to entertain and decide not only the pending applications but also the applications which may be submitted in future. The pending applications be disposed of within a period of one month from the date of submission of certified copy of this order." In our opinion, the instructions contained in letter Annexure R.1 cannot be made applicable to the applications submitted by the petitioner before the issuance of Annexure R.1 because it is a settled law that executive instructions cannot be made applicable with retrospective effect. Hence, the writ petition is allowed. The Regional Passport Officer, Jalandhar is directed to entertain the applications submitted by the petitioner and decide the same within one month from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order. Petition allowed.