The Kerala High Court has overturned a sessions court order that denied a man accused in a narcotics case permission to work abroad, condemning the judge’s reasoning as flawed and unfair.
At the heart of the controversy was the sessions judge’s decision to equate the accused, Sooryanarayanan, with financial fugitives Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, both of whom remain overseas despite efforts to bring them back. The High Court deemed this comparison baseless, calling it an improper justification for restricting the accused’s right to employment.
Sooryanarayanan, who was 18 at the time of the alleged offense and is now 24, had been granted bail in 2019. With his trial delayed due to a backlog of cases, he sought permission to work abroad while being represented by legal counsel in court. However, the sessions court rejected his request, citing concerns that he might flee, much like Mallya and Modi.
“If even high-profile economic offenders remain beyond reach, who will bother to bring back this petitioner if he absconds?” the sessions judge had remarked while denying the plea.
Unconvinced, the High Court ruled that such reasoning was unwarranted and that denying a person’s livelihood on speculative fears was unjust. A report presented in court revealed that the sessions judge was handling over 4,000 pending cases, including more than 1,000 that were over five years old—indicating that Sooryanarayanan’s trial was unlikely to conclude anytime soon.
Given this backlog, the High Court observed that forcing the petitioner to remain in India without employment for at least two more years would be unreasonable. It ruled that he be allowed to travel abroad, provided he was represented by legal counsel in his absence and complied with any conditions set by the sessions court.