Travel abroad in pending criminal proceedings may be allowed subject to strict safeguards ensuring return and trial integrity.
Permission to travel abroad may be granted in a pending criminal matter where the applicant's absence can be secured by stringent safeguards and there is no shown misuse of liberty. The Court considered the applicant's age, medical and family circumstances, the lack of any material indicating prior abuse of liberty, and the prosecution's limited dispute on the medical grounds. It found that requiring deposit of 50% of the recovered amount would be onerous in the facts. Travel was therefore allowed for six months subject to conditions including a substantial FDR, an undertaking to return by a fixed date, surrender of the passport on return, and restrictions on seeking extension or tampering with evidence.
Issues: Whether the petitioner should be permitted to travel abroad for a limited period despite the pending criminal proceedings, and if so, on what conditions.
Analysis: The petition was under Sections 397 and 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, challenging the revisional order that had declined permission to travel abroad. The Court noted the petitioner's age, medical and family circumstances, the absence of any material showing previous misuse of liberty, and the fact that the prosecution itself did not seriously dispute the medical grounds. It also found that insisting on deposit of 50% of the recovered amount would be onerous in the facts of the case. The Court balanced the petitioner's need to travel with the requirement of securing her return by imposing conditions including a substantial FDR, an undertaking to return by a fixed date, surrender of passport on return, and restrictions against seeking extension or tampering with evidence.
Conclusion: The petitioner was permitted to travel abroad for six months on specified conditions, and the revisional petition was disposed of accordingly.
Final Conclusion: Permission to travel abroad was granted subject to safeguards designed to ensure the petitioner's return and the integrity of the proceedings.
Ratio Decidendi: Where a petitioner's absence can be adequately secured by stringent conditions and there is no demonstrated history of abuse of liberty, permission to travel abroad may be granted even in a pending criminal matter if the balance of convenience and justice so requires.
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