TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2021 (4) TMI 750
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....ependent Director, in the Annual General Meeting dated 26th September 2007. The Petitioner is working in Oman and relocated there on 24th October, 2009. He is stated to have resigned from the post of Independent Director of M/s Techpro Systems Limited on 13th January, 2015 due to his full time employment in Oman and health concerns. In 2017, Corporate Insolvency Resolution Proceedings were initiated against M/s Techpro Systems Limited, and on 5th May 2019, the Resolution Plan was approved by the NCLT. 4. The case of the Petitioner is that he had travelled to India on 2nd February, 2021 and was scheduled to fly back to Oman on 21st February, 2021. However, he was stopped at the airport and was intimated about the LOC which has been issued against him at the behest of the SFIO. The Petitioner was thereafter issued summons bearing F. No. SFIO/INV/TSL/1304/2020 by the SFIO on 23rd February 2021, through WhatsApp, to personally appear before the Investigating Officer on 2nd March, 2021. 5. This matter was heard in part on 17th March, 2021. Ms. Maninder Acharya, ld. Sr. Counsel, submits on behalf of the Petitioner that a copy of the LOC has not been given to the Petitioner. Reliance is....
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....nts, is of several thousands of crores and accordingly, the Petitioner ought not to be permitted to travel abroad. It is further submitted that there are six to seven LOCs which have been issued against the Promoters and Directors of M/s Techpro Systems Limited and the LOC issued against the Petitioner is only one of them. M/s Techpro Systems Limited is a listed company and Independent Directors have a greater obligation in such companies. Thus, it is submitted that the Petitioner ought not to be permitted to travel abroad, outside the jurisdiction of this Court. 10. At this stage, the Court is merely considering the question as to whether the LOC deserves to be stayed i.e., whether the interim relief is to be granted. The pleadings are yet to be completed. The admitted facts, insofar as the Petitioner is concerned, are as under:- (i) The Petitioner is employed in Oman. His certificate of employment has been placed on record and he has been working there since 2009. (ii) The Petitioner's wife and children reside in Delhi NCR. (iii) The Petitioner has several immovable properties in Delhi/NCR, a list of which has been submitted to the SFIO. (iv) The Petitioner has been aske....
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....e attention of this court to the Office Memorandum (OM) dated 27.10.2010 which refers to the judgement dated 11.08.2010 passed by this court in Sumer Singh Salkan v. Asst director & Ors: W.P. (Crl) no. 1315/2008 and sets down the guidelines for issuance of LOC. Paragraph 8(g) and (h) of the said OM are relevant and are set out below:- "8. In accordance with the order dated 26.7.2010 of the High Court of Delhi, the matter has been discussed with the concerned agencies and the following guidelines are hereby laid down regarding issuance of LOCs in respect of Indian citizens and foreigners: xxxx xxxx xxxx g) Recourse to LOC is to be taken in cognizable offences under IPC or other penal laws. The details in column IV in the enclosed proforma regarding 'reason for opening LOC' must invariably be provided without which the subject of an LOC will not be arrested/detained. h) In cases where there is no cognizable offence under IPC or other penal laws, the LOC subject cannot be detained/arrested or prevented from leaving the country. The originating agency can only request that they be informed about the arrival / departure of the subject in such cases. Xxxx xxxx xxxx" ....
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....exceptional cases, LOCs can be issued even in such cases, as would not be covered by the guidelines above, whereby departure of a person from India may be declined at the request of any of the authorities mentioned in clause (b) of the above-referred OM, if it appears to such authority based on inputs received that the departure of such person is detrimental to the sovereignty or security or integrity of Indian or that the same is detrimental to the bilateral relations with any country or to the strategic and/or economic interests of India or if such person is allowed to leave, he may potentially indulge in an act of terrorism or offences against the State and/or that such departure ought not be permitted in the larger public interest at any given point in time." Instead of: "In exceptional cases, LOCs can be issued without complete parameters and/or case details against CI suspects, terrorists, anti/national elements etc. in larger national interest." It is clear from a perusal of clauses (g) (h) and (j) that unless and until the conditions in these clauses are satisfied, prima-facie an LOC cannot be opened. 18. There is no criminal case pending against the Petitioner. His r....