Mumbai man can fly abroad after high court puts stay on his lookout notice

The Bombay high court (HC) on Thursday stayed the lookout circular issued against a city resident, Gaurav Tayal, and permitted him to travel abroad.

The Bombay high court (HC) on Thursday stayed the lookout circular issued against a city resident, Gaurav Tayal, and permitted him to travel abroad.

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The HC bench asked Tayal to submit an affidavit to the court, disclosing his itinerary in detail.

The lookout notice was issued by the home ministry on the basis of a recommendation by the Allahabad Bank, in which the financial institution had claimed Ahmedabad-based Asahi Fibres, in which Tayal's father is a director, had defaulted on the repayment of a loan.

The petitioner learnt about the lookout circular on March 21, when he was stopped from flying to Doha at Mumbai airport. He then sent a representation to the home ministry, requesting for the withdrawal of the circular and later moved HC after no action was taken on his representation, challenging the circular.

Tayal’s counsel, advocate Girish Godbole, said Tayal was not a guarantor to the loan which his father’s firm had taken. However, the bank’s counsel, senior advocate Ravi Kadam, responded that the loan amount had been siphoned off and Tayal was the signing authority for the firm. The bank’s counsel also claimed that Tayal had transferred the funds to other firms from where the money was routed outside the country.