Court permits Tejaswi Yadav to travel to Dubai for family vacation

New Delhi: The Rouse Avenue court has granted permission to Tejaswi Yadav to travel to Dubai for a family vacation. Tejaswi is an accused in a CBI case.

Tejaswi Yadav had sought permission to travel to Dubai from September 18 to October 8 with his family for a family vacation. Special CBI judge Vishal Gogne granted the permission to travel to Dubai.

The Court has directed that Tejashwi Prasad Yadav provide FDR for a sum of Rs 25 lakh, which shall be subject to forfeiture in favour of the Government of India in case the accused violates any of the conditions of this order.

The court also directed that Tejashwi inform the court about his travel itinerary, including placing on record the details of his stay in Dubai and the contact number to be used by him during the said period in Dubai before his travel abroad. He is also required to provide a mobile number on which he can be contacted during this period.

He shall inform the court about his arrival in India within 48 hours of his return and shall surrender his passport after renewal of the same. He shall not request for an extension of his stay abroad, the court said in the order.

The CBI had opposed the bail application. The CBI submitted that the allegations relating to Sections 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act against Tejaswi and other accused persons are grave.

"The gravity of the allegations is by itself not reason to deny foreign travel to an accused who is on bail," Special Judge Vishal Gogne observed in the order passed on September 9.

The court rejected the contention of the CBI and said that it is to be observed that the right to travel is an intrinsic right enjoyed by any person, including an accused.

"Such rights ought not to be curtailed by way of uncalled monitoring of the personal travel-related planning and details of accused persons," the court observed.

The court said that it does not find merit to the omnibus objection from the CBI to the effect that the ends of justice would be frustrated if the application is allowed.

Besides, the applicant can be required, as was the condition imposed qua the previous foreign travel, to inform the court about his travel itinerary and the details of his stay abroad prior to his travel abroad, the court held.

It was submitted by his counsel that the applicant is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the state of Bihar and there is no apprehension of him absconding from India.

It was stated by the CBI in response to the prayer of the accused for travel to Dubai that material particulars regarding the said travel and stay arrangements have not been provided by the applicant and that there is no particular necessity for the applicant to undertake the travel in question.

It was further submitted by the counsel for the CBI that any plea for such travel be subjected to reasonable restrictions.