LOC stands against the principles of natural justice and constitutional rights of the petitioner- removed by Haryana High court
TITLE: Sumedha Goel v State of Haryana
Decided On-: May 1, 2023
CWP-19776-2020 (O&M)
CORAM: Hon’ble Justice Ms. Ritu Bahri &Manisha Batra
INTRODUCTION– The petitioner has filed this petition in order to obtain a writ of certiorari to vacate a Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against her by the Bureau of Immigration, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, at the request of the Director of Enforcement.
FACTS OF THE CASE-
The petitioner’s situation is that she is an Indian non-resident who has been living in Singapore since 2016 and working for a software company there. Her residence is in Ludhiana. She received a number of properties from her in-laws as part of a family settlement after her husband passed away in 2014, according to the settlement agreement. She will purchase an apartment in Ludhiana in June or July 2020 using her own funds. In his capacity as a businessman, Kailash Aggarwal dealt with the National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL). NESL, its Directors, and its Employees are the subjects of a FIR with the number 213 on it. The petitioner’s father and the companies he owns have also been named as defendants in the aforementioned case, which was filed in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), and her father is currently being tried in the designated court in Greater Mumbai. In March of 2020, she travelled to see her parents. She had been residing with her parents ever since, though, because of the Covid outbreak and ensuing lockdown. On 11/12.08.2020, respondent No. 2’s officials conducted a raid at her father’s home, and she later learned that by issuing some orders, respondent No. 2 had frozen/suspended the bank accounts and D-mat accounts that had previously existed in her name as well as the names of her daughters and other people.
She had travelled abroad once more, and when she returned on November 10, 2020, and arrived at Amristar Airport, immigration officers detained her and informed her that a LOC had been issued against her. She claimed that respondent No. 2 had issued some notices during her absence from the country from 20.08.2020 to 10.11.2020, but she was unable to receive them. In the interim, the respondents had made some complaints under the PMLA of 2002, alleging that her parents had sold attached properties and transferred the sale price into their bank accounts. The movable and immovable property owned by the petitioner and her daughters was temporarily attached to respondent No. 2 on September 24, 2020.
COURT ANALYSIS AND DECISION
The petitioner’s knowledgeable attorney argued that she was not a defendant in any criminal case. She was unconcerned with her father’s businesses or his business dealings. She was an NRI who had a job that required frequent travel there and back. Her right to travel abroad could not be taken away. She was unable to be stopped from leaving the country.
On the other hand, experienced representation for the respondents has argued that the petitioner’s father was involved in criminal cases due to allegations of committing offences under the terms of the PMLA. He had engaged in money laundering and, by selling attached properties, had transferred sale proceeds totaling Rs. 3.20 Crores in favour of the petitioner and her daughters, thereby also involving the petitioner.
Both the counsel relied they argumnets on previous ruling and submitted their prayers
“In these circumstances, the respondents, in our opinion, cannot prevent the petitioner from leaving the country by issuing a look out circular, and the action taken by the respondents is not only a violation of office memorandums issued by respondent No. 2 itself, but also a violation of natural justice principles and a violation of the petitioner’s constitutional rights.”
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Written by– Steffi Desousa