Delhi court grants ‘NOC’ to Rahul Gandhi for three years for issuance of fresh ordinary passport

• A Delhi court on Friday granted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi a 'No Objection Certificate' (NOC) for issuing a new regular passport for a period of three years

• Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vaibhav Mehta partially granted the Congress leader's plea and said the 'NOC' granted by the court would be valid for three years

• Gandhi had approached a court in the state capital seeking an "NOC" for a new regular passport after he surrendered his diplomatic passport following his conviction and two years in jail in a defamation case over the "Modi surname" remark and subsequent disqualification from the Lok Sabha

A Delhi court on Friday granted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi a 'No Objection Certificate' (NOC) for issuing a new regular passport for a period of three years.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vaibhav Mehta partially granted the Congress leader's plea and said the 'NOC' granted by the court would be valid for three years. “I partially grant your request. Not for 10 years, but for three years,” another chief metropolitan magistrate told Gandhi's lawyer, as per reports.

Gandhi had approached a court in the state capital seeking an "NOC" for a new regular passport after he surrendered his diplomatic passport following his conviction and two years in jail in a defamation case over the "Modi surname" remark and subsequent disqualification from the Lok Sabha.

The Congress leader was looking for 'NOC' for ten years. However, the court granted 'NOC to Gandhi for a period of three years. "Through this application, the applicant seeks permission and no objection from this court to issue a new regular passport," the Congress leader said in his application to the court.

Gandhi's lawyer sought the issuance of a "NOC" before the court, arguing that there was no criminal case against the Congress leader.

The Congress leader, along with his mother and former party president Sonia Gandhi, is facing charges in a National Herald case filed by former Member of Parliament (MP) and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy. In this case, the court released him on bail in December 2015. At the last meeting, after hearing the arguments, the court posted the matter to Friday. The court also directed the BJP leader to file a reply to Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking 'NOC' for issuance of a new passport. Opposing the grant of 'NOC' for ten years, Swamy said that the same can be granted for not more than one year and can be reviewed annually.

Rahul Gandhi lost his membership of Parliament after he was convicted by a Surat court in a defamation case over the 'Modi surname' remark. The Surat Sessions Court rejected his plea for stay of sentencing in the defamation case. The Congress president challenged the order in the Gujarat High Court, which reserved the verdict on his appeal.