Why court ordered 2 men to pay Rs 4 lakh to Delhi animal welfare NGO Friendicoes as ‘atonement’

Justice Anup Jairam Bhambani allowed the petition and set aside the travel restrictions imposed by the trial court.

Balancing between ‘timely proceedings’, ‘right to travel’

• The trial court (magistrate) on March 23, 2021, granted bail to the present accused in a case arising out of an FIR filed on April 27, 2016.
• On completion of the investigation, a chargesheet was filed on December 21, 2018, for trial under Sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.
• Under the apprehension that the accused would abscond, the complainant company filed an application before the trial court seeking the imposition of travel restrictions on the accused.
• By order dated February 15, 2025, the trial court added a condition directing the accused to take prior permission of the court before leaving the country.
• Aggrieved by the condition imposed, the accused filed revision petitions before the sessions court. On February 28, 2025, the sessions court stayed the operation of the order passed by the trial court.
• Subsequently, on July 24, 2025, the sessions court set aside the previous order of the trial court and ordered it to consider the application filed by the complainant afresh, taking into account the entire factual background of the matter.
• On November 6, 2025, the trial court considered the application again and held that it would be “ideal for the accused persons to seek a prior permission from the court before leaving the country” to create a balance between timely proceedings and the right to travel abroad.
• It was this order that the accused wished to be set aside and approached the high court for the same.

‘Baseless apprehension’

Senior Advocate Jayant K Sud and advocate Ujjawal Anand Sharma, appearing for the accused, contended that the original bail order passed by the trial court did not contain any travel restriction and that the magistrate had no power to modify the original order.

It was further submitted that criminal courts were barred under Section 362 (court not to alter judgment) of the Criminal Procedure Code from altering final orders passed by them except for the correction of clerical or arithmetical errors.

The counsels also argued that the apprehension of the complainants that the accused are a flight risk is baseless, as the accused have an unblemished record of several years in the proceedings before the trial court and that they have been represented at almost every hearing.

‘Suppressed multiple facts’

Advocate Anmol Sinha, appearing on behalf of the state, urged that the accused had travelled abroad multiple times without obtaining prior permission from the court, thereby violating of the trial court.

Advocate Hrishikesh Baruah appearing on behalf of other complainants submitted that accused had suppressed material facts, like having obtained new passports without informing the passport authorities about the pendency of the criminal proceedings against them.

It was contended that the accused also hid the fact that they were permanently residing with a golden pass visa in the United Arab Emirates, and not in India. 

It was also urged that order of the trial court was well within its powers as modifications in bail conditions can always be made by a trial court; and therefore, it was incorrect to argue that the order amounts to a review of the original bail order. 

The counsel lastly argued that the accused were indeed a flight risk as in a criminal case they have been sentenced to simple imprisonment of a year and had also been directed to pay compensation to the tune of Rs 28.50 lakh to the complainant and that the said sentence was suspended to enable the convicts to file an appeal and hence the apprehension.

‘Friendicoes SECA’

Friendicoes SECA began in 1975 as a kindness club run by a group of school children. Its purpose was to create awareness about homeless pets and street animals in distress. Friendicoes was registered as a non-profit charity on April 23, 1979.

Friendicoes provides services throughout the Delhi NCR region and in four neighbouring states, through hospitals, clinics, animal shelters and mobile clinics and provides dedicated veterinary help and rehabilitation to all animals in distress, large and small.