Court questions LOC against bizman within 5 days of FIR

A Delhi court on Saturday sought clarity from the police on how a look-out circular (LOC) was issued against businessman Samir Modi within just five days of the FIR being lodged in a rape case.

Additional Sessions Judge Vipin Kharb, hearing initial arguments on Modi’s bail application, asked the defence, “You are seeking bail while he is still in police custody?” The senior counsel appearing for Modi pressed the court to examine the timing of the LOC, arguing that such a step was unusually swift. “How can a look-out circular be issued in five days of an FIR?” counsel Ramesh Gupta submitted, urging the court to direct police to explain.

The court observed that it too wanted to know how the LOC was sanctioned so quickly.

Modi, brother of former IPL chairman Lalit Modi, had travelled to London on a return ticket and was detained upon his arrival at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on September 18.

The New Friends Colony police had issued the LOC days after registering the FIR on September 10, leading to his arrest on rape allegations.

On September 19, the Saket court remanded him to police custody for two days and directed investigators to look into a counter-complaint he had filed alleging extortion by the complainant. The remand was subsequently extended by two more days, though the police had sought three.

During Saturday’s proceedings, which were recorded on camera at the request of the complainant’s lawyer citing the sensitivity of the case, tensions rose over the procedure.

Senior advocate Avi Singh, representing the complainant, argued that the matter should remain on camera to protect the victim’s privacy. Gupta countered that hearings on bail were not ordinarily conducted behind closed doors, adding that the complainant’s counsel had no standing to make such submissions.

The judge ordered the courtroom to be cleared before continuing. The bail hearing has now been scheduled for Monday at the request of Modi’s counsel, while the accused remains in police custody until Sunday.