New Delhi, March 20 The Delhi High Court on Friday quashed lookout circulars (LOCs) issued against NDTV founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy in 2021 following a case filed against them by the CBI, saying they cannot be subjected to an indefinite restriction on their right to travel abroad.
Asserting that the right to travel abroad is an integral part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution, Justice Sachin Datta held that the continued operation of the LOCs against the petitioners is an unjustified curtailment of their fundamental right, which cannot be sustained in law.
Justice Datta observed that the investigation against the couple was pending for more than five years, during which the petitioners never attempted to evade the legal process, and that a chargesheet had not even been filed yet.
The judge also noted that the petitioners have not been summoned for investigation for several years, and there are no allegations of non-cooperation.
"In the absence of any evidence demonstrating either non-cooperation, flight risk, or any concrete prejudice to the investigation, the continued operation of the LOC against the petitioners cannot be justified merely on unsubstantiated grounds of 'economic interest' or 'larger public interest'," the court said.
"The impugned LOC is hereby quashed," it ordered.
The court nonetheless directed the petitioners to furnish an undertaking affirming that they would appear before the investigating authority when required and render full cooperation in any ongoing proceeding.
It also asked the couple to assure that they would provide all material or documents requested by the investigating agency, as may be available within their power or possession.
The Roys filed petitions in 2021 challenging the LOCs opened against them at the behest of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) pursuant to the lodging of two FIRs in 2017 and 2019.
The 2017 CBI FIR was registered on a complaint from an individual, Sanjay Dutt, of Quantum Securities Limited over alleged irregularities in the repayment of a loan offered by the ICICI Bank to RRPR Holdings Private Limited linked to the Roys, resulting in a purported loss of Rs 48 crore to the bank. The CBI, however, filed a closure report in the case in 2024.
The 2019 FIR was registered against the NDTV founders over allegations of violation of FDI norms. The CBI had said the LOC issued against the petitioners pursuant to the 2019 case was valid.
In the 46-page judgment, the court observed that the material on record did not indicate any attempt by the petitioners to evade the investigation or abscond, and they continued to participate in the legal proceedings.
It also noted that while the petition was pending, the petitioners were allowed to travel abroad on several occasions and they consistently returned to India.
The court said any restriction on the right to travel abroad must satisfy the test of reasonableness, fairness and proportionality, and in the present case, "the denial of the petitioners' ability to freely travel abroad for such a prolonged period, in the absence of any material justifying such restriction, itself constitutes a substantial prejudice and amounts to an unwarranted curtailment of their personal liberty".
It further said the provision allowing the issuance of an LOC on grounds of "economic interests of India" and "larger public interest" "cannot be invoked loosely".
The CBI opposed the petition, contending that there were serious allegations of white-collar economic offences involving complex international financial transactions and tracking the petitioners' departure was in the economic interest of India.