Justice Sachin Datta said the LOCs will be cancelled as long as Prannoy and Radhika keep cooperating with the people investigating. The court said continuing to have the LOCs wouldn’t do much good since the Roys are working with investigators. This means they can now travel internationally, but the CBI still has the power to continue their investigation.
High Court Order and Immediate Effects
The Roys’ lawyers told the court that the couple had answered the requests to appear (summons) issued in 2019 and have been cooperative with the investigation. The CBI hasn’t filed a formal accusation (chargesheet) in the 2019 FIR and are still looking into that situation.
The 2017 FIR came about because Sanjay Dutt from Quantum Securities Ltd complained that RRPR Holdings Pvt Ltd had some complicated loans. He said RRPR got a 500 crore loan from India Bulls Pvt Limited to get around 20% of a company through a public offer.
Origins of the FIRs and Core Allegations
Dutt’s complaint also said RRPR got a 375 crore loan from ICICI Bank with about a 19% interest rate to pay back the previous loans. He claimed the directors had used a lot of their company shares as security for the loan and hadn’t told the proper authorities (like the organization that regulates the stock market) as they should have.
Later, the investigators wrote a report saying they were closing the 2017 case, and the reduced interest rates mentioned in the complaint weren’t unusual. They said many accounts had similar reductions between 2007 and 2010, and this was standard banking, not illegal activity.
Closure Report and Court Acceptance of the 2017 Case
The agency officially ended its investigation into supposed corruption and fraud related to that 375 crore loan in late 2024, saying the deal looked like a normal business transaction. In January 2025, the court accepted this closure report, which basically ended that part of the investigation.
The second FIR, which was filed in August 2019, is still being actively investigated. No formal accusation has been made yet, and the court was clear that cancelling the LOCs doesn’t mean they’ve decided the Roys are innocent of the things they haven’t yet resolved.
Status of the 2019 FIR and Ongoing Investigation
The fact that the court order has conditions shows a balance for investigators: the authorities can still collect evidence, but Prannoy and Radhika don’t have to deal with being stopped from travelling as long as they continue to cooperate. The Roys’ lawyers said they are ready to do whatever the investigators ask.
This case shows how financial dealings between companies, those giving loans, and companies that own other companies can lead to questions about whether everything was revealed properly and how the loans were given. Authorities and banks regularly look at the details of loans and what is used as security, and courts will decide if all the rules were followed.
Legal and Corporate Governance Implications
For people in charge of companies, this ruling emphasizes how important it is to be open with the authorities and to keep good records of any major funding. For investigators, the decision confirms that things like LOCs (used to prevent someone from leaving the country) need a good reason and can be reviewed by a court.
The High Court’s order lifts the travel problems for the two former directors, while still letting investigators do their job. The 2019 investigation will show if the case will go to a formal accusation or be closed eventually.
