New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday directed former Amnesty India chief and activist Aakar Patel not to leave the country without its permission.
The court has also stayed the order directing the CBI to withdraw the Lookout Circular (LoC) issued against Patel in a case related to alleged violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), news agency PTI reported.
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Additionally, the court has also stayed a magistrate’s order asking the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to issue a hand-written apology to the writer-activist.
On Thursday, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pawan Kumar of Rouse Avenue Court had also sought a written apology from the CBI Director.
The court posted the matter for further proceedings on April 12 (Tuesday).
The fresh order comes a day after the central probe agency challenged the order of a special court in the Delhi sessions court that had granted relief to Patel on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, the CBI had also refused to file a compliance report with regard to a Delhi court’s direction to quash the lookout circular issued by the probe agency against Patel.
Meanwhile, Patel was again stopped at an airport last night and was informed that the CBI has not withdrawn the LoC against him.
According to Patel, he was stopped by immigration at the Bengaluru airport on Thursday night despite a favorable court order. “Immigration again suspended. CBI has not removed me from its look out circular,” he said in a tweet.
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The court had also noted that apart from monetary loss, the applicant had suffered mental harassment and thus the applicant may approach the court or other forum for monetary compensation, PTI further said in its report.
Patel today sued the CBI for contempt after he was stopped from going to the US last night to attend his overseas assignments and lecture series organized by various universities till May 30.