JAGDISHPRASAD MOHANLAL JOSHIversusUNION OF INDIA AND ORS

                                                        32-IA2925-2026INAPEAL140-2023.DOC

                                                                                   Santosh

                            IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                                   CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION


                                 INTERIM APPLICATION NO. 2925 OF 2026
                                                  IN
                                    CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 108 OF 2026

                      Jagdishprasad Mohanlal Joshi                          ...Applicant-
                                                                                Appellant
                                        Versus
                      Union Of India And Ors.                             …Respondents

                      Mr. Chandansingh Shekhawat, and Sanskruti H., i/b Parinam
                            Law Associates, for the Applicant in IA/2925/2023.
                      Mr. Pradip Gharat, Spl. PP, for Respondent No.1 – UOI.
SANTOSH
SUBHASH               Smt. R. S. Tendulkar, APP for State – Respondent No.2.
KULKARNI
Digitally signed by
SANTOSH SUBHASH
                                                   CORAM:     N. J. JAMADAR, J.
KULKARNI
Date: 2026.09.05
13:07:54 +0530
                                                   DATED:     3rd SEPTEMBER, 2026

                      Order:-

                      1.   Heard the learned Counsel for the parties.

                      2.   By this application the Applicant - Appellant in Criminal

                      Appeal No. 140/2023 seeks permission to travel to Dubai,

                      United Arab Emirates (UAE), for a period of seven days from 26 th

                      September, 2026 to 3rd October, 2026, and thereafter to

                      Kathmandu, Nepal, for a period of seven days from 4 th October,

                      2026 to 11th October, 2026 and also seeks a direction to return

                      the passport to the Applicant and permission to apply for

                      obtaining a Visa to undertake the foreign travel.

                      3.   By a judgment and order dated 9th January, 2023, the
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learned Special Judge (‘MCOC’), Greater Bombay, has convicted

the Applicant for the offences punishable under Sections 120B,

344, 363, and 368 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (‘the Penal

Code’), and Sections 3(1)(ii), 3(2), and 3(4) of the Maharashtra

Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999 (‘the MCOC Act’). For the

major offence punishable under MCOC Act, the Applicant has

been sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for the period of

10 years.

4.   By an order 10th July, 2023, this Court suspended the

sentence and enlarged the Applicant on bail during the

pendency of the appeal on certain conditions, including that the

Applicant shall not leave the country without prior permission

of the Court.

5.   The    Applicant   has      moved   this   application   seeking

permission to travel to Dubai (UAE) to meet his daughter and

grandchildren, who reside in Dubai (UAE), and to Kathmandu,

Nepal, for bona fide business purposes. The Applicant has been

invited by a Business House in Nepal to provide guidance in

relation to Pan Masala Blending and Production Operations.

Documents are annexed to the application to substantiate the

assertions in the application.

6.   The learned Counsel for the Applicant submitted that the

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Applicant was permitted to travel abroad in the past, and he has

not abused the permission granted by the Court. The Applicant

has complied with all the conditions.

7.   Mr. Gharat, the learned Special Public Prosecutor for the

Respondent-State, opposed the prayers in the application.

8.   The record indicates that, by an order dated 16 th July,

2025 in IA/2435/2025, this Court had permitted the Applicant

to travel to Nepal, Vietnam, and UAE for a period of about one

month. It is not the case of the Respondents that the Applicant

has breached any of the conditions subject to which he was

permitted to travel abroad. The Applicant appears to have roots

in India to bring him back to India. The reasons ascribed by the

Applicant necessitating the travel abroad appear to be bona fide.

9.   Right to travel abroad, which is construed to be a facet of

right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of

India, is not confined to emergency travel. Such right can be

exercised even for familial purposes. A useful reference can be

made to the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of

Satish Chandra Verma vs. Union of India and others 1, wherein

the following observations were made:

     “5.   The right to travel abroad is an important basic


1    2019 SC OnLine SC 2048.
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      human right for it nourishes independent and self-
      determining creative character of the individual, not only by
      extending his freedoms of action, but also by extending the
      scope of his experience. The right also extends to private life;
      marriage, family and friendship are humanities which can be
      rarely affected through refusal of freedom to go abroad and
      clearly show that this freedom is a genuine human right.
      (See: Mrs. Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India and Another
      (1978) 1 SCC 248). In the said judgment, there is a reference
      to the words of Justice Douglas in Kent v. Dulles 357 US 116
      (1958) which are as follows:
            “Freedom to go abroad has much social value and
            represents the basic human right of great
            significance.”


10.   The aforesaid being the position in law, this Court does

not find any impediment in allowing the Applicant to travel

abroad.

11.   Hence, the following order:

                              :ORDER:

(I)   The application stands allowed in terms of prayer clauses

      (a) to (c) subject to the following conditions:

(a)   The Applicant shall furnish his mobile number to the

      investigating officer, on which he would be available

      during his stay away from India.

(b)   The Applicant shall furnish the details of his immovable

      properties located in State of Maharashtra which are

      owned by him to the investigating officer.

(c)   After return from Dubai (UAE) and Kathmandu, Nepal, the


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      Applicant shall immediately report to the Investigating

      Officer and shall continue to comply with the condition of

      attendance.

(d)   After return from Dubai (UAE) and Kathmandu, Nepal, the

      Applicant shall immediately redeposit his passport with

      the Special Court.

      The application stands disposed.

                                         [N. J. JAMADAR, J.]




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