$~J * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Judgment pronounced on: 10.04.2026 + W.P.(C) 10033/2025 VIJAY KUMAR CHOUDHARY .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Ravi Prakash, Sr. Advocate along with Mr. Aditya Dewan, Ms. Himangi Kapoor, Ms. Vandana Anand and Mr.

Swetank Kumar, Advocates.

versus STATE BANK OF INDIA & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Mr. Sanjay Kapur along with Mr. Surya Prakash, Mr. Abhishek Tiwari and Ms. Santha Smruthi, Advocates for R-1.

Mr. Rohan Jaitley, CGSC, Mr. Dev Pratap Shahi, Mr. Varun Pratap Singh and Mr. Yogya Bhatia, Advs., UOI.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SACHIN DATTA

JUDGMENT

1. The present petition has been filed by the petitioner praying as under–

“A. Issue a writ of Certiorari or any other writ/order/direction in the nature thereof quashing/setting aside the Look Out Circular(s), issued against the Petitioner (bearing Passport no. ZA018639) at the instance of Respondent No. 1 vide ref. dated 17.05.2019 or otherwise, and issue necessary directions/intimation to Respondent No. 2, i.e., the Bureau of Immigration, Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi as regards quashing of the said LOCs, and B. Issue a writ of certiorari/mandamus or any other writ/order/direction in the nature thereof directing Respondent No. 2 to not restrict the Petitioner (bearing Passport No. ZA018639) from travelling abroad and/or interfere with his right to travel abroad”.

2. The background of the matter is that the petitioner was invited to join the Board of Directors of Educomp Solutions Limited (ESL) as a non- executive/independent director. The petitioner accepted the position and was appointed as a non-executive/independent director on 13.11.2013.

3. Subsequently, the petitioner was also appointed as a non- executive/independent director in other Educomp Group entities, Edu Smart Services Private Limited (ESSPL) and Educomp Infrastructure and School Management Limited (EISML), in 2015.

4. ESL was incorporated in 1994 under the Companies Act, 1956 and was engaged in the business of creating, developing and providing digital educational content. It was the flagship company of the Educomp Group, which also included ESSPL and EISML.

5. Between November 2011 and December 2012, ESL and its group companies availed various loan facilities from a consortium of banks, including the State Bank of India (SBI)/respondent no.1.

6. Subsequently, ESL and EISML sought restructuring of their debts under the Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR) mechanism introduced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) vide Circular No. BP.BC.15/21.04.114/2000-01 dated 23.08.2001, to ensure a timely and transparent system for the restructuring of corporate debts of viable corporate entities.

7. It is emphasised by the petitioner that vide Circular No. DBOD. No. BP.BC.68/21.04.132/2002-03 dated 05.02.2003 issued by the RBI, an eligibility criterion was laid down for the institution and implementation of the CDR mechanism, which states that in no case would the requests of any corporate indulging in wilful default, fraud, or misfeasance be considered for restructuring under CDR system.

8. It is submitted that the said restructuring was sanctioned by the lenders, including SBI, thus, the petitioner had strong reasons to believe that ESL/EISML were admitted to the CDR Scheme only after the lenders were satisfied that there was no incidence of wilful default, diversion, siphoning etc.

9. It is submitted by the petitioner that the petitioner joined the Board of the Educomp Group companies thereafter as a non-executive/independent director, on the understanding that the companies had already been admitted into the CDR mechanism without any adverse findings.

10. In due course, it is submitted that ESL and EISML were admitted into the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, and that their respective resolution plans were approved by the National Company Law Tribunal.

11. Thereafter, on account of certain alleged financial irregularities and insta