On Friday, the Delhi court approved Rahul Gandhi’s passport application and granted a three-year ordinary passport, issuing a partial no-objection certificate (NOC). Rahul Gandhi, who is an accused in the National Herald Case based on a complaint by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, had his passport plea partially allowed by the court.
New Delhi: The Delhi Court decided on Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi’s passport plea on Friday. The court partially granted a no-objection certificate for an ordinary passport for three years.
The judge specified that the passport would be valid for the next three years, not extending to a period of 10 years. Following his disqualification as a Member of Parliament (MP), Rahul Gandhi had to surrender his diplomatic passport. Consequently, he applied for a NOC to obtain an ordinary passport.
Vaibhav Mehta, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM), reached a decision and reserved it after hearing the arguments on Rahul Gandhi’s passport plea. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy countered the application by stating that the application was “devoid of any merit”. And Swamy argued that the passport should be issued for only one year and renewed annually. After considering the arguments, Vaibhav Mehta reserved a three-year no-objection certificate (NOC) for Rahul Gandhi’s passport application.
Swamy also expressed to the court that the case was highly exceptional, therefore, it would be unfair to grant a passport for 10 years. He argued against its issuance, claiming it to be incorrect. Since Rahul Gandhi had citizenship in Britain, therefore his Indian citizenship is also questioned; Swamy contended in the Delhi court.
Swamy’s submissions and arguments were opposed by Rahul Gandhi’s advocate, Tarannum Cheema. The advocate claimed that the two petitions related to the citizenship issues had already been dismissed by higher courts. Therefore, the criminal proceedings concerning Rahul Gandhi’s citizenship should not be taken into consideration.
She countered the argument, stating that there have been similar cases that were even more severe than the current issue. The court has already granted necessary relief in those cases. In Rahul Gandhi’s case, there aren’t even clear charges, so she urged the court to grant her a ten-year passport.
National Herald case filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy against Rahul Gandhi
The National Herald Case is a private complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy against Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and others. The charges laid include cheating, conspiracy, and criminal breach of trust. The case revolves around the acquisition of Associated Journals by Young India Ltd (YIL).
Swamy’s criminal case alleges severe malpractice by YIL during the takeover of National Herald assets. Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) was established by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1937, and due to significant losses, the holdings were granted to YIL in 2011. The National Herald newspaper, which is published by AJL, is involved in the case.
Swamy filed a petition against both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and they were summoned by the ED for questioning related to the case. Currently, the ED is investigating the financial transactions between AJL and YIL.
The Congress party contends that the establishment of YIL was solely for charitable purposes and profit was not the goal behind it. They argue that the transaction is strictly a commercial one. The allegations made by Swamy are claimed to be politically motivated, according to the Congress party.
