Delhi Court Allows Rahul Gandhi To Obtain Ordinary Passport For 3 Years

New Delhi: The Delhi court on Friday granted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi a no-objection certificate (NOC) for issuance of an “ordinary passport" to him after he surrendered his diplomatic passport as he had been disqualified as an MP.

The court in Rouse Avenue granted NOC for three years to Gandhi. “I’m partly allowing your application. Not for 10 years but three years,” the judge told Gandhi’s lawyer.

The Congress leader moved the court seeking an NOC after his he was convited in a defamation case over his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surname, by a Surat court.

Gandhi is an accused in the National Herald case in which former BJP MP Subramanian Swamy is the complainant. Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had opposed the plea moved by Gandhi, saying that if the former MP is allowed to travel abroad, it may hamper the ongoing probe.

Gandhi has applied for a new passport for his upcoming visit to the United States on June 4, where he is expected to address a public rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden.