A special CBI court on Wednesday deferred the order on the investigating agency’s revision plea challenging a magistrate order withdrawing a Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against former Amnesty chief Aakar Patel to Saturday.
Special CBI judge Santosh Snehi Mann, while extending the stay on the magistrate’s order till Saturday, said the written arguments by the CBI were submitted on Wednesday and hence time was needed to go through them.
The court had put an interim stay on the order passed by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate after the CBI challenged it in a revision petition. It had also directed Mr. Patel to not leave the country without its permission.
Written apology
The magistrate’s order had said that a written apology from the CBI Director, acknowledging lapse on part of his subordinate, to Mr. Patel “would go a long way in not only healing wounds of the applicant but also upholding trust and confidence of the public in the premier institution”.
The order also stated that “there cannot be any unfettered control/restriction on the right to travel” and that it was part of a person’s fundamental right to travel.
The order came after Mr. Patel moved court after he was stopped by immigration authorities from boarding a flight from the Bangalore airport to the U.S., citing a LOC issued against him by the CBI in connection with an FCRA (Foreign Contribution [Regulation] Act) case lodged against Amnesty International India. He claimed that the action was taken against him despite a Gujarat court’s order specifically granting him permission for the trip.
Even as the magistrate’s order withdrawing the LOC was delivered on April 4, Mr. Patel was again stopped by the immigration authorities from leaving the airport late in the night after which he moved court with a contempt plea. The CBI’s response was sought by the court in the plea while the investigating agency moved a special CBI court seeking revision in the magistrate’s order.
