‘No flight risk’: Delhi HC allows Prannoy, Radhika Roy to travel abroad

Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate N Hariharan submitted that they wish to travel both for “business purposes and personal reasons” (to visit Prannoy Roy’s brother).

The CBI’s counsel, Anupam Sharma, opposed the request for travel on the ground that investigations are currently going on against the petitioners.

Justice Singh said, “The court has considered the reasons given in the application as also the fact that vide order dated June 1, 2022 the petitioners had been permitted to travel. Owing to the professional standing of the petitioners as also their ties to India, they do not pose a flight risk. Accordingly they are permitted to travel on the following conditions.”

The court directed that the Roys will provide a “detailed itinerary” to the registrar of the court and an “undertaking shall be filed that they shall return to India not later than August 30, 2023”. It said other conditions will be added in the order. The travel application was filed in a pending plea by the Roys seeking quashing of Look-out Circulars (LOC) issued against them based on a CBI probe.

The CBI had filed an affidavit stating that the LOCs concerned are still valid. The affidavit stated that as per the “MHA’s LOC guidelines dated 22.02.2021, Para 6(J), the LOC opened shall remain in force until and unless a deletion request is received by BOI (Bureau of Immigration) from the originator itself.”