Obama intervention? Devyani gets immunity, won’t face trial

New York: The strong stand taken by India in the Devyani Khobragade case appears to have worked. Even though Manhattan Attorney Preet Bharara indicted the diplomat on Thursday on two criminal charges, she will not have to stand trial in New York as her diplomatic immunity has come through in the nick of time. “She is free to travel out of the United States and will not be prosecuted in New York. The State Department has endorsed her UN accreditation under which she has full diplomatic immunity from prosecution,” a diplomat who didn’t want to be named told Firstpost. The news that Khobragade had been granted diplomatic immunity came a day after Secretary of State John Kerry had a confab with President Barack Obama on L’Affaire Khobragad and the escalating tensions with India. [caption id=“attachment_1332559” align=“alignright” width=“380”] The strong stand taken by India in the Devyani Khobragade case appears to have worked. AP[/caption] After the meeting, the State Department which had been sitting for weeks on Khobragade’s UN transfer papers acted to grant Khobragade immunity. According to sources, the State Department also swung into action as Khobragade had suffered a legal setback on Wednesday and Kerry and Co. knew Manhattan Attorney Preet Bharara’s office was all set to bring formal charges against Khobragade. Diplomatic sources said the State Department went through the motions of asking India to waive immunity for Khobragade so she could stand trial, knowing fully well that India would not desert its own. In a face-saving move for both countries, US law was still seen taking its winding course. Manhattan Attorney Preet Bharara’s office said on Thursday that the charges will remain pending until Khobragade can be brought to court to face them, either through a waiver of immunity or her return to the US without immunity status. “We will alert the court promptly if we learn that the defendant returns to the United States in a non-immune capacity, at which time the government will proceed to prosecute this case and prove the charges in the indictment,’’ said a letter submitted by Bharara’s office to the Manhattan court. As anticipated, Bharara’s office moved swiftly to bring formal charges against Khobragade after US Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn denied a request on Wednesday by Khobragade’s lawyer to delay a preliminary hearing on January 13. Much to India’s concern, it was clear that a “polarizing” indictment in the case was in the offing this week. Khobragade was charged by a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Thursday with visa fraud and making false statements to fraudulently obtain a work visa for her former India-based nanny Sangeeta Richard. At one point, there was much confusion as US prosecutors told the judge that Khobragade had been granted diplomatic immunity and had already left the country earlier on Thursday. Prosecutors said there was no need for an arraignment because Khobragade had “very recently’’ been given diplomatic immunity status and left the United States on Thursday. However, Khobragade’s attorney Daniel Arshack said in a statement on Thursday that the diplomat was at her New York City apartment. Shortly after Arshack issued the statement, a spokesman for federal prosecutors said the State Department had told prosecutors that it had asked her to leave the country. Khobragade made it clear that she was going to leave the US with her head held high. The MEA has confirmed that Devyani Khobragade has left for India. In a statement to PTI, Devyani said, “All charges against me are false and baseless.” In a statement issued after the hearing, Khobragade’s lawyer Daniel Arshack said his client “is pleased to be returning to her country. Her head is held high. She knows she has done no wrong and she looks forward to assuring that the truth is known”. Although the Indian diplomat appears to have won Round 1 by gaining diplomatic immunity, she will still have a high personal price to pay as the indictment will prevent her from coming back to the US. Anyone else would be happy to see the last of the US after such an ordeal but things are complicated for Khobragade who is married to an American. Khobragade’s husband Aakash Singh Rathore has deep roots in the US, is an American citizen and a Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he has been teaching for the past year. He also may have business interests in his family-owned winery in Michigan. The arrest last month of Khobragade, threatened to damage what has otherwise been a decade of careful collaboration between the two countries as they deepen trade and defense ties. The escalating row torpedoed visits by US officials to India as New Delhi was in no mood to wine and dine American diplomats till the Khobragade matter was resolved. India’s new ambassador to Washington, S Jaishankar, who worked on the landmark US-India civil nuclear deal used his very first meeting with Obama administration officials last month to emphasize that the “stalemate” in bilateral ties would continue till the Khobragade case was resolved in a “respectful” manner. According to media reports, Indian authorities have unearthed cases of tax and other legal violations by US Embassy staff members in New Delhi. The authorities have warned that they are prepared to make public and act upon the information if Khobragade’s case is not resolved to India’s satisfaction. The relationship will require careful nurturing after being tested severely by the Khobragade row, but given time it’s likely to bounce back. There was a lot of support for India from both the State Department and the Pentagon which were at odds with Khobragade’s cruel arrest in front of her daughter’s school and strip-search