Complainant in Rakesh Asthana case Satish Sana moves Delhi HC to quash LOC

Satish Sana, the complainant in the case against former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Director Rakesh Asthana, has moved the Delhi High Court seeking to quash the Look Out Circular (LOC) issued in his name in connection with a bribery case against meat trader Moin Qureshi..In his complaint against Asthana, Sana had alleged that the CBI officer had received a bribe of Rs 2 crore in exchange for giving a clean chit to him in the Qureshi case..While issuing notice to the CBI, a Single Judge Bench of Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva asked the agency to file its reply to the plea within three weeks..The matter was originally listed for hearing before Justice Najmi Waziri, but due to his absence, it was listed before Justice Sachdeva..The LOC has been challenged for being in violation of Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution of India..Senior Advocate Salman Khurshid, appearing for Sana, informed the Court that the LOC has been issued against Sana despite him being merely a witness in the case. Since Sana is neither named in the FIR, nor listed as an accused, there was no occasion for the CBI to issue an LOC, it was argued..Sana, who was summoned by CBI several times, has always been cooperative and supportive during the investigation in the case, Khurshid further said..He informed the Court that the existence of a LOC only came to Sana’s knowledge when he was at the airport to leave for Dubai for the purpose of his son’s education..It is also claimed that the LOC was issued in contravention of the Office Memorandum of October 21, 2010 issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, which lays down certain safeguards to be followed..It is therefore prayed that the LOC ought to be quashed for being illegal, malafide and arbitrary..Earlier, Sana had approached the Supreme Court for police protection. He had also asked for his interrogation to be carried out under the supervision of retired judge of the Supreme Court AK Patnaik J., who will also be monitoring the inquiry against Alok Verma. While the Apex Court granted the first request, it declined the latter.