Uttarakhand HC dismisses ​​land fraud accused's plea against lookout circular

Nainital, Nov 13 (PTI) The Uttarakhand High Court dismissed the petition of a person seeking the cancellation of the Look-Out Circular (LOC) issued against him in connection with the alleged fraudulent sale of a plot of land for Rs 95 lakh.

A single bench of Justice Pankaj Purohit, hearing the case, said that there was no illegality or irregularity in the issuance of the LOC against petitioner Asad Khan and that its continuation was appropriate.

An FIR was lodged by Praneet Kohli at the Buggawala police station in Haridwar, alleging that Khan had sold a plot of land in Haridwar to his son, Mudit Kohli, using forged documents.

Another FIR related to the same property alleged that Khan forged the signatures of complainant Zulfan and his brother and used the forged documents to sell the land to Mudit Kohli for Rs 95 lakh.

Khan was arrested in June 2022 and subsequently granted bail on July 12, 2022. He learned of the issuance of the LOC against him through an order dated July 20, 2023.

In his petition, Khan termed the issuance of the circular as "arbitrary" and "illegal," stating that he had never attempted to evade judicial proceedings and had fully cooperated with the investigation.

He stated that since his release on bail two years ago, the investigating agency had not summoned him for questioning, which clearly demonstrated that there was no risk of his absconding.

Khan argued that the circular was issued without providing any reason as required under the guidelines and violated his fundamental rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement. He sought permission to travel abroad to Switzerland and London to meet his son and for tourism purposes.

Opposing Khan's petition, the state government stated that the LOC was issued after a thorough investigation and was based on incriminating evidence against the petitioner.

The state government stated that a charge sheet has been filed in the case, and that the circular is a procedural safeguard to ensure that those accused of serious crimes remain available during judicial proceedings and cannot flee the country.

After hearing both sides, the court dismissed the petition, stating that the petitioner is accused of forgery and fraud related to financial transactions, and that the records presented by the investigating agency reveal significant financial transactions abroad by the petitioner, raising the possibility that he may flee the country. PTI DPT AMJ AMJ