Karnataka high court sets aside lookout circular against driver working in Saudi Arabia

Bengaluru: The high court has set aside the lookout circular (LOC) issued against Abdul Khadar Nihad, a resident of Ulaibettu in Dakshina Kannada district who works as a driver in Saudi Arabia.

“The state cannot, under the guise of investigation, reduce a citizen to economic destitution. The constitutional guarantee under Article 21 is not confined to mere animal existence but extends to dignified survival and economic freedom,” Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum noted in his order passed on April 29.

The 27-year-old petitioner is facing proceedings in a criminal case registered against him under Sections 351(2), 352, 353(1)(c) and 192 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in relation to an inflammatory social media post, and was arrested last year upon arrival at Bajpe airport in Mangaluru. Though Nihad was released on bail and his mobile phone returned, the LOC issued against him continued and he was not allowed to travel abroad. This forced him to approach the high court.

After perusing the materials on record, Justice Magadum pointed out that Nihad was already arrested and interrogated, enlarged on bail by a competent court and no longer in possession of any incriminating material. “The petitioner has cooperated with investigation; he is on bail and his presence can be secured through conditions. Yet, the state seeks to impose a blanket travel embargo, which is neither necessary nor proportionate. The LOC, in its present form, operates as a civil death of the petitioner’s livelihood, especially when his employment is situated abroad,” the judge pointed out.

The impugned action, therefore, fails the test of fairness, reasonableness and non-arbitrariness. The continuation of LOC, despite the petitioner being on bail, is arbitrary and disproportionate, he added.