The Delhi High Court has quashed the Lookout Circulars (LOCs) issued against two senior officials of a private firm in connection with a money laundering investigation allegedly involving Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) and Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL).
Petitioners Amit Dangi and Sanjay Dangi were associated with Authum Investment and Infrastructure Limited, which has acquired RCFL. Justice Madhu Jain, while setting aside the LOCs issued against the two petitioners, said the continuation of LOCs against them was unwarranted.
This court is of the view, that the petitioners’ availability can be secured through the directions issued hereafter and the continuation of the LOC against them is, therefore, not warranted. “This court, therefore, finds that both petitions deserve to be allowed, subject to the directions...,” the court said in its October 16 order.
It added that in neither case can the pendency of further investigation, without the justification discussed, sustain a continuing restriction upon the fundamental right to travel abroad. The court directed the petitioners to co-operate with the investigation, respond to summons and produce any relevant documents.
It also asked them to inform the investigating officer of the case prior to any foreign travel, including itinerary, destinations and contact numbers abroad.
The court directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to communicate the judgment to the Bureau of Immigration, which must implement the quashing of the LOCs and update its records accordingly.
The petitions arose from investigations into alleged financial irregularities at RCFL and RHFL between 2017 and 2019 under their former management.
The CBI registered two FIRs on September 19, 2022, alleging criminal conspiracy and cheating; neither petitioner was named as an accused in the FIR.