NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has allowed Misa Bharti, the daughter of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav and an accused in a money laundering case, to travel to Singapore for his kidney transplant.
Special Judge M K Nagpal also allowed Bharti's husband and co-accused Shailesh Kumar to travel abroad from November 25, 2022 to January 1, 2023, noting that no material proceeding requiring physical presence of the applicants are to be conducted during the period.
The court noted the conduct of applicants during the court proceedings was good as they had appeared on the very first day whenever they were summoned to appear, and they had also been regular in attending the court proceedings except when their requests for exemptions from appearance were made and allowed by this judge.
Hence, the apprehensions being expressed on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate regarding their absconding from the trial or proceedings of this case can be perceived as mere apprehensions and not having any reasons or basis to support, the judge said, while allowing Bharti and Kumar to travel abroad.
"In view of the above discussion and keeping in mind the totality of facts and circumstances, the applicants, Misa Bharti and Shailesh Kumar, are permitted to travel abroad to Singapore during the period from November 25, 2022 to January 15, 2023," the judge said in an order passed on November 22.
The judge further said, "The right to travel abroad of an accused is embodied in the fundamental right to life and liberty contained in Article 21 of the Constitution of India and this right cannot be taken away or curtailed, except in accordance with the procedure established by law."
The application submitted that Yadav had been suggested kidney transplant on urgent basis by doctors in Singapore, adding that the transplant process requires at least three months time.
"It has been submitted that the father of Accused 37 (Bharti) is about 74 years old with end stage kidney disease secondary to diabetes mellitus and hypertension," the court noted.
The application added that Bharti's sister Rohini Acharya will be the donor and as per schedule given by the doctor, the surgery will take place on December 5.
It said that being the eldest daughter, Bharti wanted to accompany her father to take care of all his medical issues.
The application was opposed by the ED, which said that accused may flee from justice if allowed to travel abroad.
The court, however, directed that before leaving the country, the accused shall furnish their travel itinerary showing the place of their stay as well as their contact numbers in Singapore.
The court also directed the accused to furnish a security deposit of Rs 10 lakh each by way of FDRs, which shall be liable to be forfeited to the Government of India in case they violate any of the conditions of the court.
Bharti and Kumar are accused of laundering Rs 1.20 crore for the purchase of some immovable property in Delhi in the name of a company, Mishal Packers & Printers P.Ltd, of which both are directors.