The gravity of the offence and the absence of an extradition treaty between the countries influenced the court's decision to dismiss the petitioner's request to travel abroad.

JUDGMENT

(Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking issuance of a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to permit the petitioner to travel abroad to Seychelles on condition to return to India on 31st October 2022.)

The present petition has been filed by a Seychelles National, who has been encircled by various investigating authorities in respect of serious economic offences involving huge public money and prevented from travelling abroad by way of a Look Out Circular, seeking for a direction to the respondents/authorities to permit him to travel to Seychelles on condition to return to India on 31st October 2022.

2. Brief facts behind filing of the present petition are as under:-

i) Suspecting fraud and money laundering, the Chief Vigilance Commission, vide its Office Memorandum dated 27.10.2017 requested the CBI to investigate into the sanction of loan to one M/s.Win Wind Oy, Finland by the Senior Management Officials of IDBI.

ii) The cat was out of the bag. The investigation by the CBI revealed that a huge sum of Rs.322.40 Crores was sanctioned as loan to the said Company by IDBI vide Letter No.IDBI/DIFC/WIN/2010-11/101 dated 4.11.2010 without following the guidelines and once again, surprisingly, ignoring the fact that the said loan was declared as Non Performing Asset (NPA) to the extent of Rs.393 Crores, a further loan to the tune of Rs.530 Crores was disbursed to one M/s.Axcel Sunshine Limited, another entity of the same group of companies during the year 2014 and adjusted the NPA and other overdue accounts of the group of companies and thereby caused a wrongful loss of more than Rs.600 crores to IDBI.

iii) The investigation further revealed involvement of various persons, Companies, unknown public servants and unknown private persons in the offence and thereby, the complaint was registered in FIR No.9/2018 for the offences punishable under Sections 120-B read with Sections 409 and 420 IPC and Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

iv) In such a backdrop, when the petitioner landed at the Chennai International Airport on 6.8.2018, he was intercepted based on a Look Out Circular (LOC) issued by the first respondent. Subsequently, on his representation, the LOC was withdrawn and the petitioner had travelled abroad.

v) Subsequently, the investigation of the original case in FIR No.9 of 2018 gave lead to --

a) the 7th respondent to register a case in ECIR/CEZO-I/10/2018(RK) dated 1.5.2018;

b) the 9th respondent to file a complaint for offences punishable under Section 439(2) read with Section 436(1)(a)(d) and (2) read with Section 212(15) of the Companies Act 2013 read with Section 621(1) of the Companies Act, 1956 read with Section 193 of Cr.P.C.

vi) Whileso, when the petitioner intended to travel to Italy on 27.1.2019, he was prevented by the Airport Authorities at the Chennai International Airport on the basis of another LOC.

vii) Claiming that the second LOC was illegal, the petitioner had, earlier, filed a writ petition in W.P.No.19743 of 2019 seeking a declaration that the LOC issued by the third and seventh respondent is invalid and without jurisdiction and consequently to recall the LOC.

viii) The said writ petition came to be dismissed on 6.11.2019. Further, a Division Bench of this court, finding that the jurisdiction exercised by the Single Judge would be a writ in Criminal Jurisdiction, had dismissed the appeal filed by the petitioner in W.A.No.SR 49793/2020 on 29.9.2020 as not maintainable.

ix) However, without challenging the order in W.P.No.19743 of 2019, the petitioner filed W.P.(Crl) No.302 of 2019 before the Apex Court under Article 32 of the Constitution of India asserting that he, being an Ambassador-at-large of Seychelles, enjoys diplomatic immunity and therefore, cannot be proceeded with before the Courts in India much less by way of c