Robert Vadra says sorry to Delhi court for violating travel terms

A Delhi court on September 21 reserved its order till tomorrow on the Enforcement Directorate’s plea to start legal proceedings against businessman and Priyanka Gandhi's husband Robert Vadra for violating terms imposed by the court on travelling abroad.

To this, Vadra offered an unconditional apology before the court. In an affidavit, the businessman accepted that he made an inadvertent error in his application seeking permission to travel, and instead of mentioning ‘to Dubai’, he wrote ‘via Dubai’ in the application.

The businessman is currently on bail in a money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate.

Vadra had already come under fire from the court for allegedly violating the terms and conditions that had been placed on him last month, even though the court had permitted him to travel to the United Kingdom via the United Arab Emirates.

On August 12, the court permitted Vadra to travel to the UK via UAE, Spain and Italy for four weeks.

In a ruling issued on Monday, special judge Neelofar Abida Parveen took issue with Vadra's justification for staying in Dubai due to a medical emergency while he was visiting the UK and stated that she could not accept his claim that he was coerced or compelled due to his health.

The city court issued a show-cause notice to Vadra and also asked why his fixed deposit receipt (FDR), which was deposited in terms of the order, was not forfeited for violating the court’s terms and conditions of the permission.

“I am unable to accept the assertion on sole affirmation of applicant contained in para 5 of the affidavit that the applicant was forced/compelled under the circumstances on account of medical exigencies to stay at UAE while traveling via UAE to UK for the simple reason that itinerary filed on August 22 and copy of the travel tickets indicates that Vadra all along intended to stay from August 25-29 at Dubai then travel to London on August 28,” the court said in its order.

The businessman in his affidavit said that he stayed in the UAE before departing on his further journey as he had deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in his left leg. He further asserted that doctors advised him to get proper rest between long-haul flights.