Rahul can get passport with 3-year validity, says court

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court granted Friday a no-objection certificate for ex-Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to get an ordinary passport with a validity of three years in lieu of the diplomatic passport that he surrendered following his March 26 disqualification from Parliament.
Rahul had sought the court’s NOC for the issuance of an ordinary passport for 10 years as he is an accused in the National Herald case filed by BJP veteran Subramanian Swamy in 2012.
The court of additional chief metropolitan magistrate Vaibhav Mehta noted that Rahul had been appearing for hearings either in person or through his counsel and never “hampered or delayed” the proceedings.
“This court has to take into account the public interests involved and also has to keep in view the right of the applicant to travel abroad. Therefore, this court, after going through the submissions of both sides and after perusal of the records, is of the view that the applicant/accused be granted an NOC for renewal of passport per rules for a period of three years,” it said.
The court didn’t give any specific reason for not acceding to Rahul’s plea for an NOC to apply for a passport with a 10-year validity.