I can tell you that under their re-issue guidelines, the Indian passport authorities view the passport as ‘damaged’ if the number is readable, the name legible and the photo intact (the guidelines don’t provide examples of the sort of damage being referred), and ‘damaged beyond recognition’ if it exceeds the above ambit conclusively. Now, we don’t know if your passport is damaged enough, if you’ll pardon the expression, to warrant a re-issue. The only way to tell for sure is to apply for it. As you may already know, Passport Seva Kendras across the country have made the process fairly easy. Log in and register hereand follow the re-issue application process for a damaged passport. Whatever the outcome, I’m sure both you and your son will only feel reassured by it