A Delhi court on Friday granted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi a no-objection certificate (NOC) for issuance of an "ordinary passport" for three years.

Gandhi had moved the court after he surrendered his diplomatic passport upon his disqualification as an MP. "I'm partly allowing your application. Not for 10 years but three years," the judge told Gandhi's lawyer.

The former Congress chief is an accused in the National Herald case in which BJP leader Subramanian Swamy is the complainant.

During the proceedings, Rahul Gandhi's advocate sought the grant of NOC, saying there are no criminal cases pending against him. ACMM Mehta, however, said Swamy had the right to file a reply on the application.

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"The 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. the present application, the applicant is seeking permission and no objection from this Court for issuance of fresh ordinary passport to him," the application said.

The court had on December 19, 2015, granted bail to Gandhi and others in the case.

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