Rhea Chakraborty in trouble Bombay HC suspends LOC for a week to travel abroad for event
Rhea Chakraborty in trouble
Bombay HC suspends LOC for a week to travel abroad for event
Bombay High Court suspends LOC against Rhea Chakraborty for a week to travel abroad for event
The CBI had issued the LOC in connection with a probe related to actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death in 2020.
In a new development, the vacation bench of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday suspended the lookout circular (LOC) issued against actor Rhea Chakraborty by CBI and allowed her to travel to Dubai for a week (December 27 to January 2) for a pet food company’s event as a brand ambassador.
The CBI had issued the LOC in connection with a probe related to actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death in 2020.
A vacation bench of Justices Kamal R Khata and Jitendra S Jain passed an order in a plea by Chakraborty, who, through advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, had said she is the brand ambassador of a pet food manufacturer and had to travel to Dubai between December 27 and January 2.
However, on December 20, the CBI’s advocate Shreeram Shirsat submitted that the actor was no longer the company’s brand ambassador and that the investigative agency had written to the firm to verify her claim and was awaiting its reply.
The bench granted the agency time to verify the claim and allowed Chakraborty to approach the vacation bench on December 26 seeking relief.
Rhea who was arrested in September 2020 in a drugs case filed by the CBI, was granted bail in October 2020. Among the conditions of her bail was that she seek permission from the court before travelling out of the country.
Reportedly, inJune 2022, she was permitted to go to Abu Dhabi for a film award, but she did not go abroad stating that she was not aware that a LOC had been issued for her by the CBI at the time.
Notedly, earlier this month, a special court directed the Narcotics Control Bureau (ncb) to allow her to travel to Dubai for a week under conditions including that she surrender her passport on her return.
But, the CBI on Tuesday submitted that Chakraborty ceases to be the company’s brand ambassador and another actor has replaced her.
However, Rhea’s lawyer submitted that his client is still a brand ambassador and submitted an email from the firm as evidence of her work commitment in Dubai.
The Court questioned the agency as to why it was opposing the plea while Chakraborty was not required for any probe since September 2021 when she was last called by CBI and till date no chargesheet has been filed.
The CBI responded that a new Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed in the case, to which the bench said that the same was formed to investigate allied cases.
The Court also dismissed CBI’s contention of Chakraborty being a ‘flight risk’ and would not return to India and highlighted her status as an actor with roots in Mumbai and that she was not a businessperson ‘who got some ill-gotten gains.’
It was also recorded that while the CBI FIR was lodged in Patna, Chakraborty was questioned multiple times in Mumbai and her brother Showik’s plea for suspension was considered by Bombay HC, which was not challenged by CBI, therefore it was competent to hear the plea.
According to the bench it was a ‘matter amidst the company and the applicant as to how they would satisfy their contract’. It held there was ‘no impediment’ to temporarily suspend LOC issued against the applicant. It asked Chakraborty to furnish travel details to CBI and deposit the passports of her parents with the HC registry before her departure. The HC posted the matter for hearing compliance of order on
January 5.
News Edit K.V.Raman
