Madras HC issues guidelines on allowing foreign economic offenders to travel abroad

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court issued a set of guidelines to the trial courts to allow foreign nationals to travel abroad while facing charges of economic offences here, as there is a need to strike a balance between an individual's right to free, trans-border movement while protecting the country’s economy.

Justice N Seshasayee wrote that the court should not go to any extreme, irrespective of the prosecution’s stand, by not granting permission to travel, denying the rights and liberty of the accused, or by taking the other extreme by advocating liberty for the accused, ignoring the economic risks involved.

The court should find a balance between the two extremes, the judge held while allowing Aircel telecommunication founder C Sivasankaran’s plea seeking permission to travel abroad.

Since the issue is too complex, and the moral perception of individual judges may spoil the consistency and predictability of judicial outcomes, the executive should address it comprehensively and, most importantly, urgently, wrote the judge.

He also issued a set of guidelines to trial courts to follow in such cases. Once a petition is filed by an accused, the court may not look into their reasons for travel and instead focus on the conditions that may be imposed for their return, read the judgment.

The court should direct the accused to provide any security either by depositing a stated sum in the court or pledge property whose value may be equivalent or approximate to the value involved in the case.

Relatives or business associates of the accused, if he is a frequent traveller abroad and owns an active Indian passport, should give sureties and also surrender their passports to the investigation agency, which will be returned only after the accused returns to the country.

Once the conditions are complied with, the court may suspend the lookout circular (LOC) issued against the accused during the travel period, wrote the judge.

With all these conditions, the HC allowed Sivasankaran, who has an LOC issued against him by the CBI, to travel to any foreign country except to the Republic of Seychelles as he is a citizen of that country.

The CBI had objected to granting him permission to travel to the Seychelles citing he may not return, as India does not have an extradition treaty with that country.

In April 2018, the CBI registered a case against Sivasankaran and others for cheating the IDBI bank to the tune of Rs 600 crore. Upon receiving the loan, he cheated the bank by not settling the dues and routed the money through his subsidy companies in foreign countries.

Based on the chargesheet, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) also charged him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

In 2019, the CBI issued an LOC against Sivasankaran, barring him from traveling to any foreign country as the investigation was pending.