Pending probe not sufficient reason to restrict travel: Delhi High Court

The court issued the direction while dealing with a petition filed by two men, to quash the Look-Out Circulars.

The Delhi High Court has held that mere pendency of an investigation cannot, by itself, justify restricting an individual’s right to travel through the issuance of a Look-Out Circular (LOC).

A bench of justice Amit Mahajan in his September 28 order, released on Wednesday observed that an LOC is a coercive measure. (PTI/ Representational)

A bench of justice Amit Mahajan in his September 28 order, released on Wednesday, observed that an LOC is a coercive measure and cannot be issued as a matter of routine merely on the ground that an investigation remains pending.

“... Its issuance and continued operation must be justified by circumstances warranting such restraint upon the right to travel. However, the mere fact that an investigation remains pending cannot, in itself, furnish an enduring basis for restricting the petitioner’s right to travel, particularly where the petitioner has consistently appeared before the investigating agency,” the court said.

Singapore resident summoned in trial court

In the present case, the two men, a father and son—one an Indian citizen and the other a Singapore resident, were summoned by the trial court in connection with a complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in 2017.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) subsequently initiated proceedings against the duo. However, when the Indian resident attempted to travel to Singapore, he was informed that he could not obtain travel clearance because an LOC had been issued against him at the behest of ED.

His Singapore-based son also apprehended that an LOC had been issued against him after his father was stopped at the airport. The men represented by senior advocate Siddharth Agarwal in their petition before the high court asserted that the LOCs were arbitrary and had been issued casually and mechanically without due application of mind.