HC quashes LOCs against Rhea Chakraborty; says mere registration of FIR no reason to issue them

Mere registration of an FIR can never be a reason to issue a Look Out Circular (LOC), the Bombay High Court said while quashing the LOCs issued against Rhea Chakraborty and her family by the CBI in connection with its probe into actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Manjusha Deshpande allowed the petitions filed by Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik and their parents - Indrajit and Sandhya - against the LOCs issued against them in 2020.

The court noted that the petitioners (Chakrabortys) have cooperated with the investigation and attended the office of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) whenever called in connection with the case, and that there was no attempt on their part to evade summons/arrest.

LOCs cannot be issued as a matter of course, but only when there is a reason to issue the same, that is when a person deliberately evades arrest or does not appear in the trial court or for any other reason, the court said.

The bench added that the reason for issuing an LOC has to be spelt out, that is the apprehension of the agency, needs to be spelt out.

The court further noted that as per the CBI’s advocate, LOC is not issued in every case on registration of an FIR.

The bench, after perusing the LOCs issued against the Chakrabortys, said in none of the circulars, any satisfaction is recorded regarding any apprehension or any other reason to issue an LOC.

The HC bench refused to stay its order.

Rajput was found dead in his apartment in suburban Bandra on June 14, 2020.

While the Mumbai police registered an Accidental Death Report and started a probe into the case, Rajput’s father in July 2020 lodged a complaint with the Bihar police, alleging that the actor’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and her family members had abetted his suicide.

The case was later transferred to the CBI which has since then been carrying out a probe into it.

The LOCs were issued in August 2020 against Rhea Chakraborty, her brother and their father.