Delhi Court Grants NOC For Issuance Of Fresh Passport To Rahul Gandhi For Three Years

A Delhi Court on Friday granted no objection for issuance of fresh passport to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for a period of three years. 

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vaibhav Mehta of Rouse Avenue Courts partly allowed Rahul Gandhi’s application seeking no objection for issuance of fresh ordinary passport to him for 10 years, after he surrendered his diplomatic passport on being disqualified as a Member of Parliament.

The application was moved by Gandhi in the National Herald case filed by former MP Subramanian Swamy against him in Rouse Avenue Courts. Gandhi is represented through Advocate Tarannum Cheema.

He, along with his mother Sonia Gandhi, was granted bail in the case in December 2015. However, as per Gandhi’s lawyer, the court had not put any condition regarding travel on him.

Opposing the application, Swamy contended that Gandhi had no valid or effective reason for the passport to be issued to him for 10 years.

“That it is submitted, 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.

He also said that the NOC for issuance of passport mat be given for not more than 1 year and that the same may be reviewed annually.

“The right to hold a passport, like all other Fundamental Rights, is not an absolute Right and is subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by the Government in the interest of national security, public order, morality, and prevention of crime,” the response added.