The Petitioners had preferred the present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking quashing of the purported Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against the Petitioners due to which they are unable to travel abroad freely and their constitutional right to travel abroad which forms integral part of the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 was being violated. The Hon’ble Court of Justice Sachin Datta reserved the matter for judgment on 19.12.2025. The Judgment was pronounced on 20.03.2026, allowing the petition and thereby quashing the LOC, subject to the Petitioners furnishing an undertaking by way of an affidavit affirming their cooperation with the investigation and providing material / documents as and when requested by the Investigation agency.

The Court observed that there is no material on record to suggest that the Petitioners have ever evaded the process of law, failed to cooperate with the investigation, or attempted to abscond from the jurisdiction of this Court. The Court stated that the indefinite continuation of the LOC against the petitioners cannot be justified. The prolonged pendency of the investigation, coupled with the absence of any material demonstrating an intent on the part of the petitioners to abscond or obstruct the investigation, renders the continued restriction on their right to travel. The Court also observed that denial of 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.

Background of the Case

On 09.08.2019, the Petitioners had boarded a flight for travelling abroad but were prevented from travelling in lieu of the LOC issued against them at the instance of CBI. On 02.06.2017, a FIR bearing No. RC-2172017000/CBI/ACU-V/AC-II/New-Delhi was registered by CBI for alleged commission of offences on written complaint of Mr. Sanjay Dutt of M/s Quantum Securities Pvt. Ltd. CBI got the LOC opened against the Petitioners in lieu of the said FIR on 20.06.2019 for a period of one year. Post registration of the FIR, investigation was carried out, whereinafter a closure report was filed and the same was accepted on 23.01.2025 by the Special CBI Court at Rouse Avenue District Courts, Delhi.

Thereafter, on 19.08.2019, another case bearing RC2172019A0005/CBI/ACU-V/AC-II/New-Delhi was registered by CBI, and CBI got the LOC opened qua the petitioners in respect of this FIR on 11.01.2021. The Petitioners were called to join the investigation at the stage of preliminary enquiry in respect of the said FIR; however, the investigation is till date pending. Being aggrieved at the issuance of the LOC against the Petitioners, the present Writ Petition was filed seeking quashing of the LOC, inter alia, the constitutional validity of the office memorandums.

Senior Advocate Manu Sharma along with DMD Advocates led by Anuradha Dutt, Pawan Sharma, Suman Yadav, Saurabh Singh Ahluwalia, Kunal Dutt, Nishant Varun and Abhyuday Sharma, appeared for the Petitioners Dr. Prannoy Roy and Mrs. Radhika Roy.