Aakar Patel stopped again, despite relief from court

After he was stopped at KIA on April 6, he approached a Delhi Court which directed CBI to withdraw the LOC issued against him

Aakar Patel, Chair, Amnesty International India, who went to the court and got relief against a Look Out Circular (LOC) Central Bureau of Investigation had issued against him, was again stopped from flying to the United States of America (USA) at Kempegowda International Airport on Thursday night. 

After he was stopped at KIA Wednesday morning, he approached a Delhi Court which on Thursday directed CBI to withdraw the LOC issued against him and even directed the agency to issue a written apology to him. Hours later, Mr. Patel’s attempt to fly to the USA was again thwarted. “Have been stopped at immigration again. The CBI has not taken me off their Look Out Circular. Immigration at Bangalore Airport says nobody at CBI answering their calls. Will move court again tomorrow if I have to [sic]”, he tweeted Thursday night. 

“I am consulting my advocates and have approached the court again,” he said on Thursday. Meanwhile, CBI sources said that the agency will likely challenge the relief granted to Mr. Patel and wants to continue with the LOC against him. CBI had on Thursday opposed any relief to him, arguing he could likely flee from justice if allowed to leave the country. 

Mr. Patel was supposed to go to the USA on a lecture tour at three universities in Michigan, Berkley and New York, regarding the attack on civil society in India and about his latest books.

The LOC is in connection with a case the CBI is probing related to alleged irregularities in foreign funding to Amnesty International India Private Limited (AIIPL) and Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT) in violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).