Withdraw lookout notice against Aakar Patel, don’t apologise: Court tells CBI

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday upheld an earlier order directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to withdraw its Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against Aakar Patel, former Chairman of Amnesty International, India, in a case relating to the alleged violation of Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA).
At the same time, the court set aside the direction issued to CBI director to apologise to Patel for the agency’s action against him.
“The direction of the trial court to the Director, CBI, to give written apology to the respondent accused, acknowledging the lapse on the part of his subordinate, to compensate for mental harassment, cannot sustain and is liable to be set aside,” the court noted in its order.
The court directed Patel not to leave the country without its prior permission. Patel will have to appear before the trial court within a week and furnish a bond for his appearance under Section 88 of the Cr.PC.
Patel was on his way to the US when he was stopped from leaving the country at the Bengaluru airport on April 6 citing an LOC issued against him by the CBI in connection with a case under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.
He was again stopped from travelling to the US at the Bengaluru airport on April 8, though a Delhi metropolitan magistrate’s court had allowed him to travel abroad earlier in the day.