In major relief to Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade, a US court has dropped all charges against her.
In a 14 page order, US District Judge said that Khobragade had full diplomatic immunity at the time of her indictment on visa fraud and underpaying her maid.
The judge said, Khobragade served as Consular officer in the US from October 26, 2012 to January 8, 2014, a position that cloaked her with consular immunity as per the Vienna Convention.
Khobragade, who was deputy consul-general in New York, was arrested on December 12 on charges of making false declarations in a visa application for her maid. She was later released on a USD 250,000 bond.
The diplomat was strip searched and held with criminals, triggering a row between the two sides with India retaliating by downgrading privileges of U.S. diplomats in India.