New Delhi, Oct 9:
The CBI on Wednesday opposed in the Delhi High Court a businessman’s plea seeking quashing of a look out circular (LOC) issued against him in connection with a corruption case allegedly involving meat exporter Moin Qureshi and the agency’s ex-director A P Singh. The CBI said it was a case of serious corruption at sensitive positions and businessman Sathish Babu Sana could evade law and flee from justice, if the LOC is quashed. Justice Brijesh Sethi noted that the high court, in its February 28 order, has said that since Sana has joined the investigation and there was no ex-facie justification in the continued existence of the LOC, it was liable to be quashed. The court asked the CBI to file an additional affidavit giving details of any new development in the case since the passing of the earlier order. It listed the matter for further hearing on November 5, making it clear that no adjournment would be granted to any of the parties. The court said it could decide on November 5 Sana’s plea seeking quashing of the LOC on the grounds that he has not been named in the FIR. He had said the LOC was issued against him despite the fact that he was appearing before the CBI every time he was summoned for questioning in the case.
Senior advocate Jayant Bhushan, appearing for Sana, said that in May this year he had got permission to travel abroad and he has returned to India which shows there is no chance of fleeing from justice.
He added that there was no other new development in the case.
The central government’s standing counsel Ripu Daman Bharadwaj, representing the CBI, opposed the plea saying Sana was arrested in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate. He was later granted bail by a trial court.
He countered Sana’s argument that he was not named in the FIR saying it was not necessary to be named in the FIR and a person’s role can come up during the investigation also.
He added that the role of Sana came up during the probe and the LOC was issued as there was serious apprehension that he may flee from India and never come back as he has business in Dubai.
Sana had said he came to know about the bar on his foreign travel on September 25 last year when he was going to France for his son’s university admission.
In his petition, Sana has said that the FIR was lodged on February 17, 2017 and since then he has travelled abroad 15-16 times and returned to India each time.
He has alleged that the LOC issued against him was “unfounded, illegal, malafide, arbitrary and violates his fundamental rights under the Constitution”.
He has also contended that according to a Ministry of Home Affairs office memorandum of 2010 and a high court judgement of the same year, an LOC can be issued only when a cognisable offence under the IPC or other penal laws has been alleged against an accused.
It can also be issued if an accused was “deliberately evading arrest”, not appearing before trial court despite issuance of non-bailable warrants or if there is a likelihood that he may evade trial by leaving the country, the petition has said.
The FIR, for which Sana was being questioned, was lodged in 2017 by the CBI after the ED and Income Tax department’s probe into money laundering and black money allegations against Qureshi allegedly revealed involvement of senior public servants.
The ED had written a letter to the CBI in this regard and it had in 2017 lodged an FIR against the meat exporter as well as its former director A P Singh and several others.
