Lalit ‘favour’ to Raje son leaves BJP red-faced

More damning is the fact that the British travel documents facilitated by the intervention of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj would have ensured his travel even if the High Court order went against him.

The decision by the division bench of the Delhi High Court came on 27 August, a few weeks after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had intervened on Lalit Modi’s behalf to get him a British travel certificate. This meant that even if the court decision went against him, he could still travel anywhere he liked till 2016.

Experts point out that since the statutory appeal period of 60 days had lapsed long back, it would be difficult for the government to get the case reopened for appeal. “The government would also have to contest the travel certificate issued to Modi before it can go into appeal,” said <g data-gr-id="33">a MEA</g> source.

Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday wanted to know, “Who took the decision to not appeal against the High Court order that restored Lalit Modi’s passport.” He said, “Government must make public who took the decision to issue <g data-gr-id="42">fresh</g> passport to Lalit Modi.” The Congress on Wednesday also upped its ante against Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. Faced with demands on her resignation, Raje phoned party chief Amit Shah and is reported to have clarified how <g data-gr-id="40">her</g> and Lalit Modi’s family had known each other for years and there was no wrongdoing.

More than the allegation of traveling with Lalit Modi’s wife to Portugal, it’s the matter of an ongoing investigation by ED into fund trails of Lalit Modi which has revealed that Raje’s son Dushyant Singh, a BJP MP from Jhalawar-Baran, received Rs 11.63 crore from the former IPL commissioner.

A source said ED, while on the trail of Rs 21 crore that Modi’s firm Anand Heritage Hotels Pvt Ltd (AHHPL) had received from unknown Mauritius-based entity Wilton Investment Ltd, stumbled on a transaction where a part of this money was used to pay Dushyant’s firm <g data-gr-id="28">Niyant</g> Heritage Hotels Pvt Ltd (NHHPL). The Congress has said that Raje has no right to continue in office after helping Lalit Modi, who is being investigated for tax evasion. The party has announced street protests from Thursday across Rajasthan.

 The first order to revoke Lalit Modi’s passport was made by the Regional Passport Officer in Mumbai in 2010. The RPO did that on a request by the Enforcement Directorate. Lalit Modi contested that decision. Modi and the government fought the battle till <g data-gr-id="38">2014,</g> when the last standing order in this matter was pronounced by a division bench of the Delhi high court in August 2014. In the four intervening years, the Passport Appellate Authority in Delhi (a unit of the External Affairs Ministry) and a single bench of the Delhi high court, ruled in the government’s favour. A division bench ruled in Modi’s favour. The government since then has been silent on the issue.