The Delhi High Court on Friday granted permission to Shivani Saxena, an alleged accused in the VVIP Chopper scam, to travel to Switzerland and UAE for her medical treatment as she has been suffering from osteoporosis and related spinal problems. The Court suspended the Look-Out Circular (LOC) in her name for four weeks.
A single-judge bench of Justice Rekha Palli passed the order while hearing Saxena’s application for suspension of the LOC issued against her for a period of three months.
Justice Rekha Palli noted in her order that, “I have considered the submissions of the learned counsel for the parties. Keeping in view the fact that the petitioner is keen to visit to Zurich, Switzerland for medical treatment as also the fact that her entire family except her husband are living in UAE coupled with the fact that she has already obtained permission from the Ld. CBI court on 28.06.2021 to travel abroad for three months, I am inclined to suspend the LOC for a period of four weeks and grant permission to the petitioner to travel to Switzerland and UAE. The LOC is, accordingly, suspended for a period of four weeks and the petitioner is granted permission to travel to Switzerland and UAE.”
During the hearing, Advocate R.K. Handoo, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that she has been suffering from osteoporosis and related spinal problems since 2018 and has been consulting Dr Peter Kremer at the NeuroSpine Centre in Zurich, Switzerland, who had specifically advised that the petitioner does not need any spinal surgery, even though all other doctors consulted by the petitioner has advised her to undergo surgery at the earliest. “Petitioner who has traveled abroad at least 13 times since 2018, with permission of this Court has never misused the liberty granted to her and, therefore, prays the LOC be suspended to enable the petitioner to visit UAE, USA and Europe,” he said.
Whereas the counsel appearing for ED has vehemently opposed application and submitted that the petitioner is a co-signatory with her husband in various bank accounts in Switzerland and, therefore, the respondent has a serious apprehension that in case the petitioner is allowed to go to Zurich, Switzerland, she may operate those bank accounts– details of some of which are not yet available with the respondent and transfer the funds from those accounts, thereby hampering the investigation.
To this petitioner’s counsel replied, even though the aforesaid ground of the likelihood of the petitioner operating any bank account in Zurich, was not taken by the respondent before the Ld. CBI Court; the only bank accounts, in which the petitioner is a co-signatory already stand attached and, therefore there is no question of the petitioner operating or tampering with that account.
The Court imposed certain conditions that she shall file an undertaking that she will visit only Switzerland and Dubai, UAE during the period. Further the High Court has directed the ED to make arrangement for an official from Embassy to accompany her, when she reached Zurich, if they want to, when she arrives there. The Court has directed her to intimate the details of her itinerary to ED, including the place of her stay.
The court has also directed her not to tamper with the evidence and not to operate any bank account while she is in Zurich, Switzerland. The court has directed her to comply with all conditions imposed by CBI Court including direction to deposit rs 50 lakh as security, which shall be forfeited in case of breach of conditions. The Court has directed her to return back to India within four weeks.
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According to the case filed by the Enforcement Directorate, UK-based AgustaWestland International Limited had paid 58 million Euros as kickbacks through Tunisia-based Gordian Services Sarl and IDS Sarl.
These companies siphoned off the money in the name of consultancy contracts to Interstellar Technologies Ltd and others and the funds were further transferred to UHY Saxena and Matrix Holdings Ltd in Dubai.
Shivani Saxena is the director of two Dubai-based firms M/s UHY Saxena and M/s Matrix Holdings through which the proceeds of crime was routed, the prosecution has alleged.
W.P.C-8084-2020CM-APPL.-26269-2020-