The Rajasthan High Court at Jodhpur has permitted three petitioners facing criminal proceedings to travel abroad for four months, setting aside a trial court order that had denied their request and maintained Look Out Circulars against them. Justice Farjand Ali passed the order on September 29, 2026.
The petition arose from FIR No. 158/2026, registered at Police Station Gangashahar, District Bikaner, under Sections 318(4), 338, 336(3), 316(2) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The FIR proceedings were already under challenge before the High Court, and the petitioners had been granted protection from arrest by a coordinate Bench.
The Court had also observed at the earlier stage that the dispute appeared to have the contours of a transactional dispute. The petitioners’ son was scheduled to undergo a surgical procedure in the United States of America. They sought temporary permission to travel abroad to attend to him and placed their medical documents, passports and confirmed travel itinerary on record.
However, the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate No. 4, Bikaner, rejected their application by order dated August 7, 2026. The trial court relied mainly on the fact that the investigation was still pending and expressed an apprehension that the petitioners might leave India and evade the legal process. The petitioners therefore approached the Rajasthan High Court under Section 528 of the BNSS, seeking to set aside the order and obtain permission to travel abroad subject to appropriate conditions.
The High Court rejected the argument that the medical advice being on an outpatient basis weakened the petitioners’ request. It observed:
“Hospitalisation cannot be regarded as a sine qua non for a parent to attend upon an ailing child. The concern and anxiety of parents for the wellbeing of their son cannot be measured by the nature of medical advice or be made dependent upon his admission in a hospital.”
The Court also held that the investigation could continue while the petitioners were abroad, as no material showed that their temporary travel would obstruct it.
The High Court allowed the criminal miscellaneous petition and quashed the August 7, 2026 order. It permitted the petitioners to travel abroad for four months after their immigration check-out, subject to an undertaking. It further directed the concerned authorities not to obstruct their travel and ordered that any Look Out Circulars should not be used to prevent their departure.
Case Title: Mahesh Kumar Gupta & Others v. State of Rajasthan
Case Number: S.B. Criminal Miscellaneous (Petition) No. 8482/2026
