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2022 (6) TMI 1312 - HC - Indian LawsValidity of Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against her by the Bureau of Immigration, Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India - right to travel abroad is enshrined in Art.21 of the Constitution of India - HELD THAT:- In the instant case, the respondents No.3&4 would prevent the petitioner from going to Australia on the basis of LOC dt.28.12.2021 issued at the instance of respondent No.2-Bank by the Bureau of Immigration (Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India) - It is not in dispute that the copy of the same was never furnished to the petitioner till it was filed for the first time by respondent No.2 along with its written response in Court. The respondent 1,3 and 4 have not followed fair, just and reasonable procedure to deprive the petitioner of her fundamental right to travel abroad as they have not followed the principles of natural justice and did not even supply a copy of the LOC to petitioner inspite of her request to do so. When there is admittedly not even an FIR registered against the petitioner, and there is no question of her being ‘accused’ of any noncognizable offence, no LOC could have been issued by respondent No.3 to detain the petitioner. At best, the respondent No.3 could have only given information to respondent No.2 about the arrival/departure of the petitioner according to the OM dt. 22.02.2021 - no exceptional case or any adverse effect on the economic interest of India has been made out either in the original request dt. 28.12.2021 made by respondent No.2 to respondent No.3 or in the reply/affidavits and recourse could not have been taken for a coercive process like issuance of LOC. The quantum of the alleged default by the borrower by itself cannot be the basis for seeking issuance of an extreme process like an LOC for restricting the personal liberty of the petitioner to travel outside the country without something more. The OM itself does not draw any line about the quantum of default by a borrower to a financial institution which would be considered detrimental to the sovereignty or integrity of India or to the economic interest of India and a quantum of default which would not fall in the said category - merely because the word ‘public’ is used in the exception clause in the OM, it does not elevate a mere default to an exceptional plane. It cannot be said that the departure of the petitioner from the country would adversely impact the economy of the ‘country as a whole’ and de-stabilize the ‘entire economy’ of the country. There has been non-application of mind by respondent No.3 while issuing LOC dt. 28.12.2021 against the petitioner, and mechanically it appears to have been issued without there being any material to show that the petitioner would fall in the category of a person against whom an LOC is permitted to be issued by the guidelines framed in that regard by respondent No.1 - Merely looking at the quantum of loss caused to a banker, it cannot be presumed that there was a fraud committed by the borrower/guarantor, moreso when no criminal case alleging fraud has even been filed against the borrower/guarantor. Suspicion cannot take the place of proof. The action of the respondent No.2-Bank in seeking issuance of an LOC to prevent the petitioner from leaving the country on the ground that she was a guarantor to respondent No.5’s loan and there was more than Rs.100 crores owed to respondent no.2, is arbitrary, illegal and violative of Article 21 of the Constitution of India - LOC issued by respondents No.1, 3 & 4 against the petitioner at the instance of respondent No.2 is set aside - Petition allowed.
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