Summary
The Court permitted an accused on temporary bail to travel to the United States for eight weeks to attend to Green Card revalidation. Bail restrictions must bear a proportionate relationship to securing attendance and protecting investigation and trial. His repeated returns to India undermined the asserted flight risk; registration of an FIR alone did not justify refusal. Permission was subject to an undertaking, court attendance and immediate passport redeposit on return.
Issues
- Whether the travel restriction was proportionate to the risk of evading prosecution.
- What safeguards should accompany permission for the proposed eight-week visit.
Held
- Conditions of bail must facilitate the administration of justice, secure the accused’s presence and prevent interference with investigation or witnesses. They cannot be arbitrary, fanciful, excessively onerous or disproportionate to those purposes. Travel abroad is a valuable aspect of personal liberty, capable of lawful regulation. (¶¶ 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21)
- The nature of the allegations, conduct and flight risk required individual assessment. Frequent travel to and return from India, notwithstanding extensive litigation, contradicted the finding that the appellant lacked Indian contact. On these facts, the FIR alone could not bar an eight-week visit to address serious Green Card consequences. (¶¶ 20, 21, 24)
- The decision did not adjudicate the factual merits of the alleged forged power of attorney. It addressed only the requested travel permission. (¶ 21)
- Before travel the appellant must undertake to return after eight weeks and attend all criminal-court hearings unless specifically exempted. His passport must be returned for the journey and redeposited with the investigating officer immediately on return. Any subsequent travel requires a fresh application, independent assessment and permission on imposed terms. (¶ 24)
Result
High Court order dated 23 July 2020 set aside and appeal disposed of. Eight-week US travel permitted subject to the undertaking, attendance, passport and future-permission safeguards.