CHENNAI: Stressing that India does not follow a Kafkaesque trial and that constitutional safeguards must be upheld, the Madras High Court held that an accused has the right to know why adverse proceedings are initiated against him.
The court was hearing a petition filed by K Padmanabhan, who sought directions to the CBI to remove all the red flags and look-out circulars (LOCs) 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 before Justice V Lakshminarayanan, the petitioner's counsel argued that he was not aware of the number of LOCs or red flags issued against him.
In their response, the CBI and the Bureau of Immigration informed the court that LOCs were confidential documents.
Not satisfied with this, the judge observed that, a person affected by any such proceeding should be made aware of it, as he can either choose to abide by the proceedings or take appropriate action against them.
The Constitution guarantees an accused certain rights, including the right to know why he is facing adverse proceedings, he said, adding: "This country does not follow a Kafkaesque trial but operates strictly in accordance with the Constitution, particularly Articles 21 and 22."
Kafkaesque, based on the literary works by Czech writer Franz Kafka, is an expression used to describe an action or situation that is intentionally complex and inherently oppressive.
The court then directed the CBI and the Bureau of Immigration to file an affidavit explaining why the LOCs were being treated as confidential, and how a person should obtain permission to travel abroad before the final report is filed and taken cognisance of by the court.
The case was posted for further hearing on September 16.