Rahul Gandhi's fresh passport matter: Swamy says application devoid of any merit

Former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy has filed a reply in the Delhi Court opposing Congress leader Rahul Gandhis application seeking NOC for issuance of a fresh ordinary passport and submitted that the applicant has novalid or effective reason for the passport to be issued for 10 years In the reply it is submitted that The application is devoid of any merit for issuance of Passport for 10 yearsSwamy further submitted that the court may exercise the discretion to grant permission after scrutinizing and analyzing all other correlated matters in deciding on the litigation of the Applicant in the broad spectrum of areas of justice and law Swamy further stated that at this stage NOC for the passport for the applicant may not be more than 1 year and may be reviewed annually or as deemed fit by this CourtThe right to hold a passport like all other Fundamental Rights is not an absolute Right and is subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by the Government in the interest of national security public order morality and prevention of crime Swamy added On May 24 the Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi asked Subramanian Swamy to file his written submissions by Friday while hearing the plea for a fresh passport by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi an accused in the National Herald caseGandhi had moved the court seeking a no objection certificate NOC 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 had observed that in the bail order no restrictions were put on Gandhis travel and the court had rejected Swamys request for restrictions on his travelAlso after the relief was granted Gandhi travelled several times without permission as there were no travel restrictions and the right to travel is a fundamental right the judge observed Counsel for Gandhi Advocate Tarannum Cheema who appeared along with advocates Nikhil Bhalla and Sumit Kumar sought the grant of the no objection certificate NOC saying there are no criminal cases pending against himThe 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 a fresh ordinary passport to him the application Rahul Gandhis Advocates submitted that there are no criminal proceedings pending and that travelling abroad is a fundamental rightThe applicant ceased to be a Member of Parliament in March this year following his disqualification as a member of Lok Sabha He was convicted in a Surat court in a criminal defamation case He surrendered his diplomatic passport and decided to apply for a fresh ordinary passport By way of the present application the applicant is seeking permission and no objection from the Court for the issuance of a fresh ordinary passport to him stated Rahul Gandhis lawyersThe lawyer also added that the complainants request to put restrictions on travel was rejected in 2015 Moreover since the bail order the applicant has travelled several times without permission as no permission was required and there are no travel restrictions In 2015 the Court while granting bail to the applicant Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case did not put any condition on travel for the applicant and others as well Rahul Gandhis lawyers notedCongress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday moved Delhis Rouse Avenue Court seeking no objection for the issuance of a fresh ordinary passport to him The National Herald case is being argued in a Delhi court and was filed by Subramanian Swamy against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi Rahul Gandhi and some persons associated with themThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever