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2026:APHC:3446

APHC010037382026

IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA

PRADESH

[3327]

AT AMARAVATI

(Special Original Jurisdiction)

WEDNESDAY, THE FOURTH DAY OF FEBRUARY

TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY SIX

PRESENT

THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE K SREENIVASA REDDY

WRIT PETITION NO.2269 OF 2026

Between:

Lagubeeru Venkata Arun Kiran ...PETITIONER

AND

The Union of India and others ...RESPONDENTS

Counsel for the Petitioner:

1. G SEENA KUMAR

Counsel for the Respondents:

1. Dy. Solicitor General of India

2. GP for Home

The Court made the following ORDER:

The Writ Petition is filed seeking to declare the action of

respondent Nos.3 to 6 in issuing Look-out Circular (LOC) against

the petitioner in connection with Crime No.77 of 2025 of Mahila

UPS, Visakhapatnam, Visakhapatnam Commissionerate,

registered for the offences punishable under Section 85 of the

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Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Section 498-A IPC old) and

Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, as illegal and

arbitrary and consequently to set aside the Look-Out Circular

issued against the petitioner enabling him to travel from

Visakhapatnam to Abu Dhabi on 08.02.2026.

2. Case of the petitioner is that he is working as an Electrical

Technician in Emirate Global Aluminium Dubai. He married one

Satyavarapu Kavitha on 14.02.2021. After they blessed with a

child, his wife filed a case in DVC No.21 of 2024 on the file of the

learned VII Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class-cum-VII

Additiobnal Senior Judge, Visakhapatnam. Petitioner filed FCOP

No.699 of 2024 seeking divorce and his wife filed FCOP No.1553

of 2025 for maintenance before the learned Additional Judge,

Family Court-II, Visakhapatnam. On 15.04.2025, petitioner’s wife

filed a case in Crime No.77 of 2025 on the file of the Mahila

Urban Police Station, Visakhapatnam, for the offences punishable

under Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Section

498-A IPC old) and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.

On receiving the notice in the said crime, he appeared before the

Mahila Police Station on 26.04.2025 and he was enlarged on bail

and returned to Dubai on 28.04.2025. Police filed charge sheet in

the above crime, which was numbered as CC No.2753 of 2025

on the file of the learned I Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate,

Visakhapatnam. Petitioner states that when the case in FCOP

No.1553 of 2025 was posted to 17.01.2026, he applied leave and

arrived to Visakhapatnam Airport from Abu Dhabi on 14.01.2026.

Then the Airport police apprehended him on the ground that

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Look-out Circular was issued against him and later he was

released on furnishing sureties.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that due to

pendency of LOC issued against him, the petitioner was unable to

leave India and extended his leave for one week. He has to

report for duty on 09.02.2026 and the departure date is on

08.02.2026. If the petitioner is retained under the guise of LOC,

he would lose his job at Dubai.

4. The learned counsel relied on a decision in Rana Ayyub v.

Union of India and another¹, wherein it was held thus (paragraphs

11 and 12).

“11. In the particular facts of the case, it becomes

evident that the LOC was issued in haste and despite

the absence of any precondition necessitating such a

measure. An LOC is a coercive measure to make a

person surrender and consequentially interferes with

petitioner's right of personal liberty and free movement.

It is to be issued in cases where the accused is

deliberately evading summons/arrest or where such

person fails to appear in Court despite a Non-Bailable

Warrant. In the instant case, there is no contradiction by

the respondent to the submission of the petitioner that

she has appeared on each and every date before the

Investigating Agency when summoned, and hence,

there is no cogent reason for presuming that the

1 Order dated 04.04.2022 passed by the High Court of New Delhi in W.P. (CRL) 714 of 2022

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Petitioner