National Herald case: Rahul Gandhi to get non-diplomatic passport as court gives NOC

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi can now get an ordinary passport as Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court granted him a no-objection certificate or three years on his application for issue of a new non-diplomatic passport. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vaibhav Mehta passed the order at 1 pm today after hearing arguments from both sides on Friday. Former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy has filed a reply in Delhi Court opposing Rahul Gandhi’s plea and said that the applicant (Rahul Gandhi) has no valid or effective reason to issue passport for 10 years.

In reply, it is submitted that “the application is devoid of any merit for issue of passport for 10 years”. Advocate Tarannum Cheema, appearing for Rahul Gandhi, said that there is no condition in the bail orders regarding the applicant. Advocate Cheema said, “People involved in serious crimes have been given passports for ten years. This includes 2G and coal scams etc. Issuance of passports for ten years is a routine matter.”

Swamy submitted in reply that the court can exercise the discretion to allow after examining and analyzing all other relevant matters in deciding the applicant’s litigation across a wide spectrum of justice and law. Swamy further submitted that at this stage, the NOC for the applicant’s passport cannot exceed one year and can be reviewed annually or as deemed appropriate by this Court.

Swamy said, “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 crime prevention.” The Rouse Avenue Court on May 24 asked Subramanian Swamy to file his written submissions by Friday while hearing a plea for a new passport by Rahul Gandhi, an accused in the National Herald case.

Gandhi had moved the court seeking a ‘No Objection Certificate’ (NOC) to obtain a new “ordinary passport” after surrendering his diplomatic travel document on his disqualification as an MP. Gandhi’s counsel Tarannum Cheema, appearing along with advocates Nikhil Bhalla and Sumit Kumar, sought No Objection Certificate (NOC) saying there was no criminal case pending against him.

“The applicant ceased to be a Member of Parliament in March 2023 and as such has surrendered his diplomatic passport and is applying for a fresh ordinary passport. Through the present application, the applicant seeks permission and no objection from this Court to issue Used to be.” him a fresh ordinary passport.”

Rahul Gandhi’s lawyers submitted that no criminal proceedings were pending and traveling abroad was a fundamental right. The applicant ceased to be a Member of Parliament in March this year following his disqualification as a Member of the Lok Sabha. He was convicted in a criminal defamation case in a Surat court. He surrendered his diplomatic passport and decided to apply for a new ordinary passport.

Rahul Gandhi’s lawyers said, through the present application, the applicant is seeking permission and no objection from the court to issue him a new ordinary passport. The lawyer also said that the complainant’s request for travel ban was rejected in 2015. Further, since the bail order, the applicant has traveled several times without permission as permission was not required and there are no travel restrictions.

In 2015, the court while granting bail to applicant Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case also did not put any condition on travel for the applicant and others, noted Rahul Gandhi’s lawyers. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday moved Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court seeking no objection to the issue of a new ordinary passport to him. The National Herald case is going on in a Delhi court and was filed by Subramanian Swamy against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and some people associated with them.