Granting permission to fly abroad, the Delhi High Court has said that the pendency of a vigilance inquiry should not impede an individual from travelling overseas.
Justice Subramonium Prasad made this observation while granting relief to Ruhi Arora, an accused in a corruption case, allowing her to travel abroad for her honeymoon from November 29 to December 14.
The court acknowledged the central issue of whether a person under a vigilance inquiry should be restricted from international travel. Justice Prasad stated: “A Vigilance Inquiry cannot be an impediment for the Petitioner to travel abroad.”
Arora was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on July 28 for offences under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, along with Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code.
She was granted bail on August 19 by the trial court, with a condition to surrender her passport, restricting her foreign travel.
Despite these conditions, Arora had previously been granted permission to travel to Singapore and Indonesia in October for her honeymoon.
However, her subsequent application to travel abroad again was initially rejected by authorities.
The court noted the stand taken by the authorities, emphasising that Arora’s alleged serious economic offence of accepting bribes did not automatically disqualify her from international travel.
Justice Prasad concluded: “The Petitioner would be available for Vigilance Inquiry after she comes back from her honeymoon. It is not an imminent threat that the Petitioner will not come back to the country.”
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