The Supreme Court has denied a petition to reinstate the Look-Out Circulars (LOCs) issued against actress Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, and her father in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case on Friday (October 25, 2024).
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan dismissed a petition brought by Maharashtra, the CBI, and the Bureau of Immigration contesting the Bombay High Court’s revocation of the circular. The bench ruled that the petition was ‘frivolous’ and was submitted solely because the defendants were high profile.
Justice Gavai said, “We are warning. You are filing such a frivolous petition, only because one of the accused is a high-profile person… It will be with exemplary cost. Both persons have deep roots in society. If you want the cost and some compliments to CBI, we will pass over.”
In August 2020, the circular was issued against Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, her father Indrajit Chakraborty, an army veteran, and her mother Sandhya, a former army school teacher.
The notice, issued by the Indian Bureau of Immigration, sought to prohibit persons facing prosecution from leaving the country or detain them if they attempted to travel outside.
The Bombay High Court annulled the circular in February 2024, citing a lack of justifications for its issuance and a failure to evaluate it in accordance with the Consolidated Guidelines.
Rhea Chakraborty was dating Sushant Singh Rajput, who was died by suicide in his Bandra residence in Mumbai. However, no suicide note was recovered. Following his death, Sushant’s family filed an FIR against Rhea. Later, the case was subsequently transferred to the CBI in Delhi.
