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2022 (10) TMI 738

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..... os.4 and 5. JUDGMENT (PER : MILIND N. JADHAV, J.) By the present Petition, Petitioner has prayed for the following reliefs:- "(b) An appropriate writ, order or direction may be issued directing Respondent No.2 to disclose and produce the purported Look Out Circulars, if any, issued and operating against the Petitioner, before this Hon'ble Court; (c) An appropriate writ, order or direction may be issued directing Respondents No.3, 4 and 5 to provide records maintained by them pursuant to which a request was made by Respondents No.3, 4 and 5 to Respondent No.2 to issue the purported Look Out Circulars against the Petitioner, before this Hon'ble Court; (d) An appropriate writ, order or direction be issued directing the Respondents to r .....

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..... is unaware, if the same still subsists. 3. The aforesaid three apprehensions against the LOCs' issued against Petitioner emanate from the pending proceedings and certain Orders passed by the learned Trial Court, by a single Judge of this Court and the Supreme Court. On 08.03.2020, Petitioner was scheduled to travel from Mumbai to London, but was detained by the Immigration Authorities at the Mumbai International Airport and thereafter taken to the office of Income Tax Department. It is stated in the Petition that between 2017 and 2020 Petitioner has travelled outside India to foreign locations on as many as 17 occasions. However Petitioner's father stands arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in respect of the aforementioned ECIR - PMLA .....

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..... te with the Investigation Officer as and when required." 7. The Petitioner is Accused No.2 in PMLA Special Case No.452 of 2020. This case is registered by the Directorate of Enforcement under the provisions of PMLA Act. By order dated 11.12.2020 Petitioner was enlarged on bail by the learned Trial Court by issuing the following directions regarding her travel:- ".......... Accused No.2 shall not leave India without prior permission of this Court. ........... Accused No.2 shall furnish her detailed residential address and mobile number to the Complainant." 8. It is seen that on 04.09.2021 CBI moved an Application in the pending case against Petitioner praying that she may be taken into judicial custody since certain new offences we .....

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..... th learned Advocates are ad-idem with this position. 10. We may also note that in so far as the Income Tax Department is concerned, by letter dated 25.05.2022 the Deputy Director of Income Tax (Inv.) FAIU-1(1), Mumbai has notified that at present there is no LOC issued by his office in respect of the Petitioner. In this context, reliance is also placed by the Petitioner on the Order dated 06.04.2022 passed below Exh.175 in PMLA Special Case Nos.452 of 2020 and 579 of 2020 wherein Petitioner's Application to travel to USA from 13.04.2022 to 05.05.2022 was allowed by the Special Court under PML Act after stipulating conditions stated therein. For the sake of convenience, we may reproduced the said order which reads thus:- "1. Application ( .....

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..... tted that in so far Income Tax Department is concerned there are no directions issued for any LOC against the Petitioner. That in so far as the PMLA case is concerned, Petitioner was permitted to travel abroad with imposition of conditions as stated in the Order dated 06.04.2022. However, in so far as the CBI case is concerned, he has drawn our attention to the Affidavit-in-reply dated 26.09.2022 filed by Respondent No.3, CBI and contended that the LOC issued against the Petitioner is still continued and is in subsistence to ensure compliance of the Order dated 12.11.2020 (supra) read in conjunction with the Supreme Court Order granting interim bail dated 07.10.2021 (supra), as the Petitioner is facing grave charges. He submitted that since .....

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..... :- (i) If the Petitioner desires to travel abroad she is at liberty to seek prior permission of the appropriate/concerned Trial Court, wherein she is charged as an accused; (ii) As and when the Petitioner makes any such application for travel abroad, the prosecution/prosecuting agency therein shall be at liberty to press any such ground, including the ground of existence/subsistence of LOC against the Petitioner; (iii) In the event if any such ground is raised, the Trial Court shall be at liberty to decide any such objection regarding LOC on its own merits and strictly in accordance with law; (iv) The Trial Court at the time of deciding such an application may consider to direct to suspend LOC for a limited period as may be permiss .....

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