Overview
- Justice Ashwin D Bhobe issued notices to Maharashtra and the Mumbai Police on Sangram Patil’s petition challenging the FIR and the travel-blocking Look Out Circular.
- Patil, a British citizen of Indian origin, has sought interim permission to return to the UK and a stay on further investigation and coercive action.
- Advocate General Milind Sathe told the court Patil was not cooperating and may be linked to other posts, a claim Patil disputes.
- The LOC led to Patil’s detention on January 10 and to prevented departures on January 16 and January 19, and he recorded a statement with the Crime Branch on January 21.
- The December FIR, filed on a BJP media cell complaint over a ‘Shehar Vikas Aghadi’ Facebook post that Patil shared, cites BNS Section 353(2) as police seek account details from Facebook.