Drop Airport Alert Against Ex Amnesty India Chief, Apologise: Court To CBI

The CBI was ordered by a court to "immediately" drop the lookout circular or airport alert against former Amnesty International India Chief Aakar Patel, who was stopped from flying to the US yesterday. The investigating agency was also asked to hand over a written apology to Mr Patel, given the "mental harassment" he had suffered.

"In this case, a written apology from the head of the CBI i.e. Director, CBI, acknowledging the lapse on part of his subordinate, to applicant would go a long way in not only healing wounds of applicant but also upholding trust and confidence of the public in the premier institution," a special CBI court said today.

Mr Patel had approached the court after he was stopped from boarding his flight to the US at the Bengaluru airport. He said he was told that he was on an "exit control list", because of the government's case against Amnesty International in in a Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) case.

In a strongly worded order, the court said that the lookout circular should not have been issued "merely on the basis of apprehensions arising out of whims and fancies of the investigating agency" and that the consequences on the rights of the affected person should have been foreseen before the circular was issued.

"This act of the investigating agency has caused monetary loss of around Rs.3.8 lakh to the applicant/accused as he has missed his flight and he was not allowed to board because of the LOC issued against him," the court said.

The writer-activist took to Twitter to share the news, where he also called the accusations of money laundering against Amnesty "absurd".

"The absurdity of accusing amnesty of criminality (of all things money laundering). ask amnesty wallahs how hard it is to get a comma or ampersand passed in a statement. This is a great org that I'm v proud of and honoured to call my community," he said.

The court also asked the CBI Director to sensitise officials involved in the lookout circular. "It is further expected that accountability of the concerned officials, in this case, be fixed," said the order.

Mr Patel has alleged that his books that are critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are likely the reason for him being prevented from speaking at lectures abroad. "'Price of the Modi years' was published in November 2021. The following month the LOC (Lookout Circular) was opened," he had said on Twitter.

On Wednesday, he said that he was prevented from travelling despite a Gujarat court order granting him permission "specifically" for the trip.

CBI sources, however, said Mr Patel was granted permission to travel to the US by a Surat court in a case registered by the Gujarat police. The agency said the airport alert was in connection with another case registered by the agency against Amnesty International India and others for alleged violations linked to Rs 36 crore in foreign funding.

The CBI had filed a case against Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL), Indians For Amnesty International Trust (IAIT), Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT), Amnesty International South Asia Foundation (AISAF) and others.

According to the complaint filed by the Home Ministry, a payment of Rs 10 crore, classified as Foreign Direct Investment, was remitted to Amnesty India from its London office. Another Rs 26 crore has been sent to Amnesty India, "primarily from UK-based entities".

Amnesty's Bangalore offices had been raided by the Enforcement Directorate in 2018 in connection with a foreign exchange contravention case.

The group had also faced sedition charges, later dropped, over a 2016 event to discuss alleged human rights violations in Kashmir.