Rahul Gandhi approaches court for an ‘ordinary passport’

A court in Delhi on Wednesday posted the hearing on a plea for a fresh passport by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, an accused in the National Herald case, on May 26.

Rahul Gandhi had moved the court on Tuesday seeking a ‘no objection certificate’ to secure a fresh “ordinary passport” after having surrendered his diplomatic travel document upon his disqualification as an MP.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vaibhav Mehta posted the matter on Friday for the filling of written submissions and the arguments of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.

During the proceedings, Rahul Gandhi’s advocate sought the grant of the NOC document, saying there are no criminal cases pending against him.

ACMM Mehta observed that while granting bail to Gandhi, the court had placed no restrictions on his travel. The court, the magistrate said, had rejected Swamy’s request for restrictions on Gandhi’s travel.

The magistrate added that since the right to travel is a fundamental right and the court had placed no restrictions on Gandhi’s movement, he travelled several times without having to obtain permission from any court.

Gandhi’s counsel Tarannum Cheema, who appeared along with advocates Nikhil Bhalla and Sumit Kumar, sought a grant of a no-objection certificate (NOC) to the Congress leader so he could secure a fresh passport.

ACMM Mehta, however, said Swamy has the right to file a reply on the application.

“The applicant ceased to be a Member of Parliament in March 2023 and as such he surrendered his diplomatic passport and is applying for a fresh ordinary passport. By way of the present application, the applicant is seeking permission and no objection from this Court for issuance of fresh ordinary passport to him,” the application said. The court had on December 19, 2015, granted bail to Rahul Gandhi and others in the case.