Atul Punj Vs Union of India & Ors. (Delhi High Court)
Delhi High Court conditionally suspended Look Out Circular against the director of company involved alleged in financial impropriety based on individual’s right to travel as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
Facts- The Petitioner, formerly a Promoter and Director of Punj Lloyd Limited, impugns the Look Out Circular issued against him at the behest of the Department of Revenue (Respondent No. 1) and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office3 (Respondent No. 2). The LOC, which restricts his international travel, was initially impugned to enable a trip to the United Kingdom from 14th August, 2024 to 30th August, 2024 for business purposes. During the course of proceedings, the Petitioner, through additional affidavits, modified his request to travel from 5th December, 2024 to 20th December, 2024. Although this period too has elapsed, the Petitioner persists in seeking suspension of the LOC, emphasizing the ongoing relevance of his business commitments and asserting that the meetings can be rescheduled if relief is granted, by this Court.
Conclusion- Held that the LOC against the Petitioner is primarily stemming from the financial defaults of the company for which the Petitioner served as Director. In the absence of conclusive findings after five years of investigation and with the Petitioner’s continued cooperation, the prolonged restrictions on his right to travel cannot be justified. Furthermore, the Petitioner has expressed his willingness to furnish security to mitigate flight risk. However, keeping in mind the nature of allegations levelled against the Petitioner, in the opinion of the Court, blanket quashing of the LOC at this stage would be premature. Therefore, in order to balance Petitioner’s right to travel abroad and the State’s interest in ensuring his availability for investigation, this Court is inclined to permit the suspension of LOC against the Petitioner by the Respondents to allow him to travel to the United Kingdom for a period of 15 days commencing from 1st February, 2025 i.e., till 15th February, 2025, subject to some conditions.
