NEW DELHI: A Delhi Court on Friday permitted Former party president and Ex Lok Sabha member Rahul Gandhi to obtain a fresh passport. Issuing a NOC Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vaibhav Mehta of Rouse Avenue Court said Gandhi could obtain a passport for three years instead of 10.
Gandhi approached the court for a no-objection certificate after he surrendered his diplomatic passport upon his disqualification as an MP. “I’m partly allowing your application. Not for 10 years but three years,” the judge told Gandhi’s lawyer.
As per close sources, Gandhi is traveling to the US next week. On June 4th, he is expected to address a public rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden, concluding his week-long tour that includes a talk at Stanford University. It will be his first public rally in the U.S.
In response to Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s plea opposing the application- the court has observed that the matter is pending since 2018 and Rahul Gandhi has been traveling abroad. There is no such apprehension that he will flee away or abscond. The right to travel is a fundamental right, said the court.
“The Application is devoid of any merit for issuance of Passport for 10 years. That it is humbly submitted, this Hon’ble Court may exercise the discretion to grant permission after scrutinizing and analyzing all other correlated matters in deciding on the litigation of the Applicant in the broad spectrum of areas of justice and law,” Swamy said in his response to the application filed by Rahul.
Gandhi has been disqualified as an MP on March 26th after being convicted in a criminal defamation case in Surat. RaGa has been charged for monitoring the surname ‘ MODI’.