Ahmedabad: Around 500 applicants were turned away on Tuesday due to a malfunction in the TCS server at the Passport Seva Kendras near Mithakhali and Vijay Char Rasta. Applicants were unable to submit new or renewal-related documents and had to wait for hours inside and outside the service centers. A verbal altercation also broke out between some applicants and security personnel, prompting the police to intervene at both centers to prevent further escalation.

The server malfunction persisted from 8:45 am to 2:30 pm, during which no applications could be submitted, leading to long queues at the counters. The files of applicants whose submissions were completed have been forwarded to the RPO. Special staff will be deployed on Saturday to process these, resulting in a delay in passport issuance. Those who couldn’t submit their applications will be given a week to reschedule their appointments.

However, due to the appointment server being down, applicants who paid a premium fee under the Tatkal scheme will not be able to secure next-day appointments.