Parties Seeking Stay on LOC Required to Apply to Court in Good Time: Bombay HC Imposes Costs of Rs 50,000 on Late Filing [Read Order]

A Division Bench of the Bombay High Court imposed costs of Rs 50,000 on the late filing of y Look Out Circular (LOC) and commented that Parties seeking a stay on LOC were required to apply to Court in good time.

A LOC has been issued against the Petitioner, Sanjay Dangi and he was made aware of this on 25th June 2022 when the Petitioner was stopped at the CSMI Airport by the Immigration Authority. He found that the LOC was at the instance of the CBI through the Bureau of Immigration.

The Application says that the Petitioner is not an accused in the CBI proceedings. There is no charge sheet against him. No charges have been framed. He has been asked to submit documents and has been called as a witness. The Petitioner points out that he has given his No Objection to the attachment of some properties as mentioned in his Reply of 29th September 2022 in other proceedings.

The petitioner also stated that the charge sheet filed by the CBI in the Special CBI Court does not name the Petitioner. The Petitioner has attended Court whenever required and the Application contained an undertaking, not only to return to India at the end of the month but to continue to cooperate with the CBI in further proceedings in the Special Court.

The petitioner has sought leave to travel to the United States and certain cities until July 3, 2023, and then to London until July 7, 2023. The original departure date of June 21, 2023, has been surpassed.

The Court of Justices G.S. Patel and Neela Gokhale expressed their displeasure and commented that “We have previously expressed our displeasure at how these Applications are being made with Applicants finalizing their itineraries even before they seek leave of the Court. This is not a question of whether or not there is a right that is violated.”

“The parties seeking stay on any Look Out Circular (“LOC”) are required to apply to the Court in good time and not to attempt to pressurize the Courts. When last-minute Applications are made like this, it is extremely disruptive. Our staff is greatly inconvenienced. Orders are to be drawn up after the order is passed, transcribed almost instantly, sometimes on the dais itself, then corrected, then signed and uploaded and we are supposed to believe that we are required to do this for a greater convenience of the Applicants, the disruption to Court being irrelevant” the Bench said.

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

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