‘Frivolous Petition’: Supreme Court Quashes LOC Against Rhea Chakraborty In Sushant Singh Rajput Case – News18

Last Updated:October 25, 2024, 16:31 IST

The LOCs were issued by the immigration authorities in August 2020 against Rhea Chakraborty and her family at the behest of CBI which has been probing Sushant Singh Rajput death case.

In a big relief to actor Rhea Chakraborty and her family, the Supreme Court on Friday upheld the Bombay High Court’s decision of quashing the lookout circular (LOC) issued by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against them in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajput death case.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan dismissed the petition filed by the CBI, the State of Maharashtra and the Bureau of Immigration, saying that it was “frivolous” and was filed merely because one of the accused persons was “high-profile,” Live Law reported.

Justice Gavai said, “We are warning you. You are filing such a frivolous petition, only because one of the accused is a high-profile person. It will be dismissed with exemplary cost. Both persons have deep roots in society.”

When the CBI counsel sought a pass over of the matter, Justice Gavai said, “If you want cost and some compliments to CBI, we will pass-over.”

Earlier in February this year, the Bombay High Court had quashed the LOCs against the Chakraborty family after finding that the agency had failed to spell out its reasons for the issuance of these LOCs. Mere mentioning of an FIR or mentioning the gist of the FIR is not sufficient and can never be a reason for issuing an LOC, the High Court had said.

“The LOC cannot be kept pending indefinitely, in this case for more than 3½ years, though the petitioners have cooperated with the investigation, which fact has not been disputed…the right to travel is a fundamental right and cannot be curtailed except according to due procedure established by law,” the High Court had said.

The bench had also raised concerns over a pending case since 2020 where the CBI had not filed a charge sheet, emphasising the need for finality in legal proceedings. The court also questioned the rationale for issuing LOCs.

The LOCs were issued by the immigration authorities in August 2020 against Rhea, her brother Showik, her father Lt. Colonel Indrajit Chakraborty (an army veteran) and her mother Sandhya (who worked as a teacher in army schools), at the behest of CBI which has been probing Rajput’s death on a complaint made by his family.

The CBI entered the scene after an FIR was filed in Patna, later transferred to the CBI by the Supreme Court. LOCs against Rhea and her brother were issued as part of the investigation.

A LOC issued by an investigating agency can request the Bureau of Immigration to detain a person, stop the person from boarding a plane or simply inform the agency concerned about the person’s exit from the country.

Sushant Singh Rajput death case

In September 2020, Rhea Chakraborty was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act) in connection with Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.

The actor was found dead in his Bandra apartment in June 2020. The two were dating at the time of the latter’s death. Rhea was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in the drugs case a month later.