The Delhi High Court ruled that inability to repay amounts due to banks can’t result in opening of lookout circulars.
The court observed that it is well settled that merely because the Office Memorandum permits the issuance of a lookout circular in exceptional circumstances, even when an individual is not involved in any offence under the IPC or any other penal law, the said power should be used in exceptional circumstances and not as a matter of routine.
The bench further added that mere inability to pay money without there being a criminal case cannot be a reason to take away the Fundamental Right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Right to travel abroad has been held to be a Fundamental Right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India which cannot be taken away in an arbitrary and illegal manner.
The court said that it is not dealing with the Lookout Circulars which have been issued against the Petitioner at the instance of DCP, Economic Offences Wing, New Delhi vide Reference No.05.02.2021; Lookout Circular issued at the instance of Joint Director, (INV, SFIO), New Delhi; Lookout Circular issued at the instance of Deputy Director, Special Task Force, HQ, Lok Nayak Bhavan vide Reference dated 16.09.2021 and other Lookout Circulars which may have been issued at the instance of other investigating agencies regarding the criminal cases which have been investigated/proceeded ahead by the investigating agencies.
“No doubt an FIR has been registered against the Petitioner but that alone cannot be a reason for continuing the Lookout Circular issued at the instance of the Banks and more particularly in view of the judgment passed by the Division Bench of the Bombay High Court in Viraj Chetan Shah”, the court said.
The court quashed the Lookout Circulars issued against the Petitioner at the instance of Union Bank of India and Bank of Baroda as the same cannot be permitted to sustain.
It was made clear that the Court has not made any observation regarding the Lookout Circulars which have been issued against the Petitioner at the instance of other investigating agencies.
Facts
The judgment is confined only to the Lookout Circulars issued by the Bureau of Immigration at the instance of the Bank of Baroda and the Union Bank of India and the Court is not dealing with the Lookout Circulars which have been issued against the Petitioner at the instance of DCP, Economic Offences Wing, New Delhi; Lookout Circular issued at the instance of Joint Director, (INV, SFIO), New Delhi; Lookout Circular issued at the instance of Deputy Director, Special Task Force, HQ, Lok Nayak Bhavan and other Lookout Circulars which may have been issued at the instance of other investigating agencies regarding the criminal cases which have been investigated/proceeded ahead by the investigating agencies.
Case Information
Case Name: Mohit Arora V/S Bank Of Baroda & Ors.
Judicial Level & Location : High Court Of Delhi
Case Number : W.P.(C) 8073/2021 & CM APPLs. 40938/2021, 40950/2021, 53220/2022 & 17249/2023
Date of Ruling : 12/07/2024
Ruling in favor of: Petitioner
Judges: Justice Subramonium Prasad
Counsel for Petitioner: Advocates Mr. Tanveer Ahmed Mir, Ms. Sonali Jaitley, Mr. Jaiyesh Bakhshi, , Mr. Mayank Mishra, Ms. Ria Chanda Tandon, Mr. Kanishk Khullar, Ms. Bhumika Bhatnagar, Mr. Yash Dutt, Ms. Ariana Alhuwalia
Counsel for Respondent: Advocates Mr. Arun Aggarwal, Mr. Shivam Saini, Mr. Praful Rawat, Advocates for Bank of Baroda. Mr. Ravi Prakash, CGSC with Ms. Astu Khandelwal, Mr. Taha Yasin, Mr. Yasharth Shukla and Mr. Ali Khan