Foreign travel for medical treatment upheld where bona fide necessity and past compliance outweighed flight-risk objections.

Foreign travel may be permitted where bona fide medical necessity is shown and the accused's past compliance with court conditions dispels a concrete apprehension of flight risk or interference with justice. The Delhi High Court upheld permission to travel abroad for specialised medical treatment because the respondent demonstrated a genuine need for supervision by a doctor familiar with his condition during maxillofacial surgery, and objections based on alleged availability of treatment in India were not sufficient to deny travel. Concerns about tampering with evidence and non-return were also rejected in the absence of specific material showing likely interference.

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Issues: Whether the respondent was entitled to permission to travel abroad for medical treatment despite objections based on alleged flight risk, likelihood of tampering with evidence, and availability of treatment in India.

Analysis: The permission to travel abroad was upheld because the respondent had shown a medical need for treatment under a particular doctor familiar with his condition, including heart-related supervision during removal of the maxillofacial cyst. The objection that treatment was available in India was not accepted as a sufficient ground to deny travel, especially where the respondent had earlier travelled abroad on several occasions without violating court-imposed conditions. The apprehensions about tampering with evidence and non-return were also not found persuasive in view of the respondent's past compliance and the absence of a specific showing of likely interference.

Conclusion: The challenge to the order permitting foreign travel failed, and the permission granted by the Trial Court was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: Foreign travel may be permitted where bona fide medical necessity is shown and the accused's past compliance with court conditions dispels a concrete apprehension of flight risk or interference with the process of justice.

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