India does not follow ‘Kafkaite trial’: Madras High Court questions secrecy around Look Out Circulars

Look Out Circulars (LOCs) should not be kept confidential and a person affected by such proceedings should ordinarily be informed about the same, the Madras High Court recently said [Padmanabhan Vs CBI]

Justice V Lakshminarayanan questioned the practice of keeping LOCs confidential and said that an affected person must know of the proceedings so that they can either comply with them or challenge them through appropriate legal remedies.

“The Constitution of India guarantees certain rights to an accused person, including the right to know why he is facing adverse proceedings. This country does not follow a kafkaite trial but operates strictly in accordance with the Constitution, particularly Articles 21 and 22,” the Court observed.

The Court was hearing a petition filed by one K Padmanabhan, who said that he was unaware of the number of LOCs or red flags issued against him.

During the hearing, the counsel appearing for the Bureau of Immigration submitted that LOCs were confidential documents. The Special Public Prosecutor appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) concurred with this position.

However, the Court expressed a prima facie view that a person affected by an LOC should be made aware of it.

Therefore, it directed the Bureau of Immigration and the CBI to file affidavits explaining why LOCs are treated as confidential.

The authorities have also been asked to explain the procedure by which a person can obtain permission to travel abroad before a final report is filed in a criminal case and taken cognisance of by a court.

The matter will be heard next on September 16.

Advocate H Karthik Seshadri appeared for the petitioner.

Special Public Prosecutor B Mohan represented the CBI, while Central Government Standing Counsel MP Jaisha appeared for the Bureau of Immigration.

[Read Order]