Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been granted a three-year short-validity passport, instead of the usual 10-year period, following a no-objection certificate (NOC) from a Delhi court. This decision comes after BJP leader Subramanian Swamy raised objections. Rahul Gandhi had previously surrendered his diplomatic passport after being disqualified as a Member of Parliament.
The court’s decision, announced by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vaibhav Mehta, took into consideration the ongoing National Herald case, where Rahul Gandhi is an accused and Swamy is the complainant. The court highlighted the need to balance public interests and the rights of the accused, ultimately deciding on the issuance of a three-year passport.
Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit the United States, starting tomorrow, where he will attend meetings, interact with university students in Washington DC, New York, and San Francisco, address Indian Americans, meet lawmakers at the US Capitol, and engage with think tank members, Wall Street executives, and university students.
Subramanian Swamy contested the three-year passport application, arguing for a one-year validity with annual renewals. He raised questions about Rahul Gandhi’s Indian citizenship, claiming he was a British citizen. However, Rahul Gandhi’s advocate, Tarannum Cheema, countered these allegations, stating that similar petitions had already been dismissed by higher courts.
Rahul Gandhi’s legal team argued for the issuance of a 10-year passport, citing leniencies provided in cases involving more serious offenses. They also highlighted that charges have yet to be framed in the National Herald case.
The National Herald case, based on Swamy’s private complaint against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and others, accuses them of cheating, conspiracy, and criminal breach of trust regarding the acquisition of the now-defunct newspaper, National Herald. The magisterial court noted that Rahul Gandhi’s right to travel is fundamental and that he had previously traveled without needing permission.
Rahul Gandhi, who ceased to be a Member of Parliament in March 2023, surrendered his diplomatic passport and applied for a new ordinary passport. He had been disqualified due to his conviction in a defamation case, where he received a suspended two-year jail term for his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname.
