The Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench) today permitted 'The Wire' editor Siddharth Varadarajan to travel to New York, USA, in connection with his scheduled programme.

Varadarajan remains on anticipatory bail in criminal cases arising from a 2020 report and tweets concerning Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

A bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh accepted Varadarajan's unconditional and unqualified apology for failing to surrender his passport as directed in the Court's May 15, 2020 anticipatory bail order and condoned the delay/non-compliance.

The Court, however, cautioned him to be more careful in future and to strictly abide by all directions issued by it.

Cases against Varadarajan

Varadarajan faces two FIRs registered in Ayodhya in 2020. They relate to a report published by The Wire on March 31, 2020 titled “Covid-19 Cases Spike in Nizzamuddin Nehru Stadium in Delhi to Become Quarantine Centre”, which was also tweeted by Varadarajan on March 31 and April 1, 2020.

While seeking anticipatory bail in 2020, it had been stated on Varadarajan's behalf that an error in the report had been corrected as soon as it came to his notice and the incorrect version was deleted.

Varadarajan was granted anticipatory bail by the High Court on May 15, 2020, subject to certain conditions, including conditions concerning his travel abroad and surrender of his passport.

In the present proceedings, Varadarajan had sought clarification of the 2020 bail conditions, contending that the relevant conditions had not yet become operative since the trial had not commenced.

He also sought permission to travel to New York from September 28 to October 7, 2026.

During the hearing, the Court questioned him about his failure to surrender the passport as directed in the 2020 order.

Varadarajan submitted that he could not surrender the passport within the stipulated time because he had misinterpreted the conditions of the anticipatory bail order. He also stated that until then, no summons or notice had been served on him by the trial court.

He tendered an "unconditional and unqualified apology" for the non-compliance and undertook to appear before the trial court on October 12, 2026, immediately after returning from abroad. He further undertook to surrender his passport on that date.

High Court's order

The High Court accepted the apology, observing that the explanation offered was bona fide and that Varadarajan had given an undertaking to appear before the trial court.

The Court cautioned him to be more careful in future and to strictly abide by its directions.

The State had opposed the request for foreign travel. It was alleged that several summons had been issued since 2020 and that Varadarajan had failed to comply with the direction to deposit his passport.

It was argued that this amounted to non-compliance with the 2020 order and raised an apprehension that he might not return to India and could evade the process of law.

The High Court, however, noted that Varadarajan had travelled abroad several times in the past and had returned to India. It therefore found no basis for the apprehension that he would not return after the proposed trip.

The Court also noted that despite the lapse of six years, the trial had not commenced and that the State had not seriously taken steps to ensure his presence before the concerned court.

It further considered that most of the alleged offences were bailable and that Section 505(2) IPC carries a maximum punishment of three years' imprisonment. The Bench observed thus:

"It is a settled law that merely because a person is an accused, he cannot be deprived of his right to travel abroad".

Finding that the reason for Varadarajan's travel appeared genuine and was supported by documents, and that there was no material showing that he would abscond, the Court permitted him to travel to New York from September 28 to October 7, 2026.

The Court directed him to return to India on or before October 9, 2026 and appear before the trial court on October 12, 2026;

He must furnish details of his itinerary, place of stay, contact number and email ID and not tamper with evidence or influence witnesses; and thereafter, deposit his passport within a week of returning to India.

The Court further directed that if Varadarajan failed to return within the stipulated period, the State would be at liberty to take coercive steps.

The passport authorities and Bureau of Immigration were directed not to obstruct his travel during the permitted period merely on account of pendency of the criminal case, subject to production of the certified copy of the order.