Justice V Lakshminarayanan said that a trial in the country operates in accordance with Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution and any person who is affected by proceedings should be made aware of it.

“Prima facie, this Court is of the opinion that a person who is affected by any such proceeding should be made aware of it. This is because he can either choose to abide by the proceedings or take appropriate action against them. The Constitution of India guarantees certain rights to an accused person, including the right to know why he is facing adverse proceedings. This country does not follow a kafkaite trial but operates strictly in accordance with the Constitution, particularly Articles 21 and 22,” the court observed.

The court was hearing a petition filed by a man seeking directions to the CBI to remove all the red flags and Look Out Circulars maintained against him, which prevented him from travelling abroad, by issuing appropriate directions to the Bureau of Immigration.

When the case came up for hearing, the petitioner side informed the court that he was not aware of the number of Look Out Circulars (LOCs) or red flags issued against him. To this, the CBI and the Bureau of Immigration informed the court that LOCs were confidential documents.

The court, however, was not inclined to subscribe to this stand. The court highlighted that any person affected by a proceeding had a right to know about it.

The court thus directed the CBI and the Immigration Bureau to file an affidavit explaining the reasons why the LOCs were being treated as confidential and to explain how a person should obtain permission to travel abroad before the final report is filed and taken cognisance of by the court.

The matter is now listed on September 16.

Counsel for Petitioner: Mr. H. Karthik Seshadri

Counsel for Respondents: Mr. B. Mohan Special Public Prosecutor for CBI, Ms. M. P. Jaisha CGSC

Case Title: K. Padmanabhan v The Central Bureau of Investigation and Another

Case No: WP (Crl) No 2254 of 2026