Bombay High Court:In a petition seeking stay on Look Out Circular (‘LOC’) restricting the petitioner to travel abroad, the division bench of G.S. Patel and Neela Gokhale, JJ., allowed the petitioner to travel overseas and reprimanded for finalizing itineraries before seeking leave of the Court.
The respondents (Union of India and Central Bureau of Investigation) issued LOC against the petitioner who wished to travel to the USA and London.
The said LOC was issued at the instance of CBI, and the petitioner came to know about the same on 25-06-2022 when he was stopped by the Immigration Authority at the CSMI Airport.
The petitioner came up with the instant writ petition seeking stay on the same wherein, it was stated that it was urgent for the petitioner to attend the conference in New York as he was the main person. Also, the travel arrangements had already been made for others.
The Court stayed the said LOC until 10-07-2023, subject to the following conditions:
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The petitioner had to file an undertaking to return to India at the end of the month.
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The petitioner had to give a detailed itinerary of his visit to the USA and London, and along with details of address and contact during his overseas stay.
The petitioner had to file an undertaking that he would not file for an extension of the order until his return to India.The court also expressed displeasure on the petitioner finalizing itineraries even before seeking leave of the Court. The parties were reprimanded by the Court and suggested to apply in advance and not to attempt to pressurize the Courts with urgency. The Court imposed costs of Rs. 50,000/- payable to St. Jude India Childcare Centres.
The Court also directed the Immigration Authorities at all ports of departure including airports to permit the petitioner’s passage and to take his flights out of India. They were further directed not to ask for a certified copy of the instant order but act on authenticated or digitally signed copy of the same.
[Sanjay Dangi v. Union of India, 2023 SCC OnLine Bom 1260, Order dated, 23-06-2023]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For the Applicant/Petitioner: Senior Advocate Prateek Seksaria, Advocate Chandan singh Shekhawat, Advocate Samruddhi Bendbhar;
For the Respondent: Advocate SK Halwasia, Advocate SS Halwasia, Advocate AM Chimalker, Advocate Aishwarya Sharma.
