The right to travel for legitimate business needs is fundamental and cannot be denied without substantial reasons, especially when compliance with bail conditions is demonstrated.

ORDER :

(V.R.K. Krupa Sagar, J.)

1. By the present petition, the petitioner herein/A1 seeks relaxation of bail conditions and various grounds are urged in this petition.

2. The Directorate of Enforcement/respondent filed a detailed counter opposing the prayer of the petitioner and seeks dismissal of this petition.

3. Sri J.Sarath Chandra, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri J.Bhaskara Rao, learned Special Public Prosecutor, Directorate of Enforcement, Government of India submitted their arguments.

4. A few facts need to be noticed. The chairman of the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation, Andhra Pradesh (APSSDC) lodged a written information. Upon which, Crime No.29 of 2021 of C.I.D.Police Station, A.P., Amarvathi, Mangalagiri was registered for the offences punishable under Sections 166, 167, 418, 420, 465, 468, 471, 409, 201 and 109 read with 120B of the IPC and 13(2) read with 13(1)(c) and (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 was registered. The present petitioner is one of the accused and he was arrested and thereafter he was released on bail. The said case is the predicate offence. Upon the predicate offence, Directorate of Enforcement registered ECIR for the offence of money laundering under Section 3 of the prevention of Money Laundering Act and the same was registered as ECIR/HYZO/03/2022 dated 07.01.2022.

5. During investigation of it, this petitioner/A1 was interrogated on multiple occasions and was finally arrested on 04.03.2023. On the prayer made police custody was granted from 14.03.2023 to 20.03.2023. Thereafter, the petitioner sought bail and filed criminal petition No.2906 of 2023 and a learned Judge of this Court by an elaborate order dated 12.05.2023 granted the prayer for bail with certain conditions. Paragraph No.18 is the operative portion of the said order, which reads as below:

18. In the result, the Criminal Petition is allowed. The petitioner shall be enlarged on bail on his executing a personal bond for a sum of Rs.50,000/- (Rupees fifty thousand only) with two sureties each for the like sum to the satisfaction of the I Additional Sessions Judge-cum Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Visakhapatnam. On release, the petitioner shall co-operate with the investigating agency and shall attend before the investigating agency once in a week i.e. on every Friday between 10.00 AM and 5.00 PM. The petitioner shall surrender his passport before the Court below.

6. It is undisputed that all the above-mentioned bail conditions were complied with and the petitioner accordingly availed his bail.

7. Sometime later, the petitioner filed I.A.No.1 of 2023 seeking relaxation of condition concerning his periodical appearance before the investigating authority. After noticing due compliance of the bail condition for a period of ten weeks, this Court by an order dated 27.07.2023 allowed that application and relaxed that condition.

8. By the present application, the petitioner seeks relaxation of the condition concerning his passport which he had deposited before the Court below in due obedience to the bail condition. It is undisputed that since the time of obtaining of bail during May, 2023 the passport of the petitioner/accused has not been with him and it has been with the Court below.

9. The grounds urged in the application and the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioner are to the effect that this petitioner is working professional in Kolkata and New Delhi and his work/business involves travelling abroad on regular basis and he has been in need of attending meetings, work emergencies in different countries and his livelihood depends on this line of work. Surrender of his passport has affected his entire livelihood and is seriously hampering his profession causing great difficulty and hardship to him. That the respondent authorities completed their investigation and filed charge sheet and this petitioner has been attending the Court process scrupulously. In these circumstances, he prays fo