A Delhi court today allowed Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's plea to travel to Geneva to express condolences to the family of former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and seek international aid for Kerala, which is reeling under unprecedented floods.
The politician, who is currently on bail in a case related to his wife Sunanda Pushkar's death almost four years ago in a luxury hotel here, approached the court this morning through his lawyers following an earlier direction that he will not leave country without its permission.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal allowed the politician's application after his counsel said Tharoor had worked under Annan for ten years and he was his "close friend and mentor" at the United Nations. Annan died on Saturday last.
"The applicant (Tharoor) is granted permission to travel to Geneva, Switzerland between August 20 and 21 as prayed for. Inform the investigating officer about your schedule," the judge said.
The court had on August 1 allowed Tharoor's application seeking permission for around eight visits to five countries, including the US, Canada and Germany, till December. He is currently in Germany in pursuant to the court order.
However, Geneva was not on his list of travel.
In his application moved today through senior advocate Vikas Pahwa and advocate Gaurav Gupta, the Thiruvananthapuram MP told the court that "in view of the sudden demise of his close friend and mentor Kofi Annan, the applicant (Tharoor) urgently wishes to go to Geneva for one day to visit the family of the deceased."
The application further said that Tharoor also "wished to meet representatives of United Nations and other humanitarian organisations in order to seek aid and relief for the massive calamity which has hit Kerala, that is his state and constituency (Thiruvananthapuram)."
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