The Hon’ble Bombay High Court (“High Court”) vide its order dated April 29, 2025, granted interim relief to its client, who filed a Writ Petition challenging a Look Out Circular (“LOC”) barring him from leaving India. The LOC was issued at the behest of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (“SFIO”) in connection with an ongoing investigation into the affairs of IL&FS. Earlier, JSA succeeded in securing permission for the client to travel overseas for two months, with the LOC suspended during that period, subject to compliance with conditions imposed by the High Court. In the subsequent application, the client sought a suspension of the LOC for 6 months to enable travel abroad for both business and personal reasons.
The SFIO, through its counsel, confirmed that the applicant had complied with the previous conditions imposed by the Court. Accordingly, the High Court, comprising of Hon’ble Ms. Justice R. M. Dere and Hon’ble Dr. Justice N. K. Gokhale, allowed the interim application on the following terms:
- The LOC against the client stands suspended for six months, to facilitate overseas travel.
- For every overseas trip during this duration, the client must furnish a full itinerary, including addresses and contact details, to SFIO at least 48 hours prior to departure, via electronic means and inform SFIO within 48 hours of returning to India after each trip.
- The Immigration Authorities at all departure points are directed to permit the client to travel, even if their systems have not yet been updated, and regardless of whether SFIO has separately informed immigration.
Our disputes team comprised Lead Partner, Varghese Thomas, Partner, Hormuz Mehta and Senior Associate, Virgil Braganza.
Hormuz is a Partner in Disputes Practice Area with a specialization in white collar crimes, penal laws, cross-border crimes, criminal investigations and general corporate criminal disputes.