Mentoassociates.com – Legal Articles

The era of digitization gave birth to entirely new markets which deal with the collection, organization, and processing of personal information, whether directly or as critical component of business. The outburst of Covid-19 and the lock-down has led to several challenges in various sectors regarding data privacy and protection; hence protection of data and privacy plays a much important role now, as there are several loopholes in which data can be breached and its security is at major risk.

Section 2 (o) of Information Technology Act,2000 defines “data” which means a representation of information, knowledge, facts, concepts or instructions which are being prepared or have been prepared in a formalized manner, and is intended to be processed, is being processed or has been processed in a computer system or computer network, and may be in any form (including computer printouts, magnetic or optical storage media, punched cards, punched tapes) or stored internally in the memory of the computer.

Data protection is the process of safeguarding important information from corruption, compromise or loss. Through the landmark judgment of Justice K.S Puttaswamy vs Union of India (AIR 2017 SC 4161), the Hon’ble Supreme Court held right to privacy is declared as a fundamental right under Article 21 of Indian Constitution. This judgment made general public realize that their data is intrinsic, important and therefore worthy of protection.

At present India does not have specific legislation in regard to data protections and privacy, although a Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 was introduced in Lok sabha. There are many ambiguities as to the implementation of this bill, but there are some important enactments which focuses and governs privacy protection and personal data
• Information Technology Act, 2000.
• The Right to Information Act,2005
• Information Technology (Guidelines for intermediaries and digital media ethics code) Rules, 2021

Section 43A of the IT Act 2000 provides that whenever a corporate body possesses or deals with any sensitive personal data or information, and is negligent in maintaining a reasonable security practices and procedures and thereby causes wrongful loss or wrongful gain to any person, then such body corporate shall be liable to pay damages to the persons so affected.

Section 72A of the IT Act 2000 provides that any person (including an intermediary) who, while providing services under the terms of a lawful contract, has secured access to any material containing personal information about another person, with the intent of causing or knowing that he is likely to cause wrongful loss or wrongful gain discloses, without the consent of the person concerned, or in breach of a lawful contract, such material to any other person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine which may extend to five lakh rupees, or with both.

Section 8 (1)(j) of Right to Information Act – This section provides that the authorities are under no obligation to provide information to citizens regarding inter alia information which relates to personal information, the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information.

The Information technology (Guidelines for intermediaries and digital media ethics code) Rules, 2021 have been passed under sections 69A(2), 79(2)(c) and 87 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Rule 4(2) provides that a significant social media intermediary providing services primarily in the nature of messaging shall enable the identification of the first originator of the information on its computer resource as may be required by a judicial order passed by a court of competent jurisdiction or an order passed under section 69 by the Competent Authority as per the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for interception, monitoring and decryption of information) Rules, 2009. This rule is clearly a major threat to the privacy of the users and this was challenged by Whatsapp in Delhi High Court to quash a new government rule which is against right to privacy.

CONCLUSION:
India has gone more digital in this covid-19 pandemic era, than ever before. In this digital era, data is a valuable resource that needs to be protected and regulated. Right to privacy cannot be exercised effectively unless data is protected through a legal regime; therefore implementation of personal data protection bill becomes very important.

Authored by

RAMYA C N
Associate

1. Introduction

These rules apply to all goods and services bought or sold over any digital or electronic network. These even apply to an e-commerce entity, not established in India, but systematically offers goods or services to consumers in India.

According to these rules, an e-commerce entity,  means any person who owns, operates or manages a digital or electronic facility or platform for electronic commerce, but does not include a seller using the said platform.

An inventory e-commerce entity is an e-commerce entity which owns the inventory of goods and services and sells such goods or services directly to the consumers.

A market place e-commerce entity is an e-commerce entity which provides an information technology platform on a digital or electronic network to facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers.

2. Duties of E-Commerce Entities:

1. An E-commerce entity shall be a company incorporated under the Companies Act 1956 or the Companies Act 2013 or a foreign company covered under clause (42) of section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013 or an office, branch or agency outside India, owned or controlled by a person resident in India.

• E-commerce entities shall appoint a nodal person of  contact who is resident in India, to ensure compliance with provisions of the Consumer protection Act, 2019 or the rules there under.

• Every e-commerce entities shall provide its legal name, principal geographic address of his headquarters and all branches, names and details of its website, email address and mobile numbers of customer care and grievance officer on its platform.

• Every e-commerce entity shall establish an adequate grievance redressal mechanism and shall appoint grievance officer for consumer grievance redressal and shall display his name, contact details, designation etc.

• Grievance officer shall acknowledge the receipt of any complaint within forty-eight hours and redresses the complaint within one month from the date of receipt of the complaint.

• E-commerce entity cannot impose cancellation charges on consumers, cancelling after confirming purchase, unless they incur similar charges if they cancel the purchase.

3. Liabilities of marketplace e-commerce entities

1. To require sellers through an undertaking to ensure that descriptions, images etc pertaining to goods or services on their platform is accurate.

• To provide the details about the sellers offering goods and services including the name of their business, geographic address, customer care number, any rating or feedbacks etc and they shall provide such information to consumer on request.

• They shall provide ticket number for each complaint lodged, through which the consumer can track the status of the complaint.

• They shall provide all information relating to return, refund, exchange, warranty, guarantee, delivery, shipment, modes of payment, and grievance redressal mechanism.

•  They shall also provide information on payment method, security of such payment methods, any fees or charges payable by users, the procedure to cancel regular payments and the contact information of payment service provider.

4. Duties of sellers on marketplace e-commerce entity

1. Sellers cannot refuse to take back goods or withdraw or discontinue services purchased or refuse to refund consideration, if such goods or services are found to be defective, deficient or spurious, late delivered etc.

• They shall have a written contract with the respective e-commerce entity in order to undertake or solicit such sale.

• They shall appoint grievance officer for consumer grievance redressal, who shall acknowledge the receipt of any consumer complaint within forty-eight hours and redresses the same within one month.

• They shall ensure that the advertisements for marketing of goods or services are consistent with the actual characteristics, access and usage conditions of such goods or services.

• They shall provide the e-commerce entity their legal name, principal geographic address of their headquarters and all branches, the name and details of their website, their e-mail address, customer care contact details, GSTIN, PAN etc.

• The seller shall further provide the following information to the e-commerce entity:
• Price of goods and services with the breakup price, together with delivery charges, handling charges, conveyance charges, applicable tax etc.
• Expiry date of goods being offered for sale.
• Details of country of origin of goods.
• Name and contact details of grievance officer
• Name and details of importer and guarantees of the imported products.
• Information related to terms of exchange, returns, refund, delivery, shipment, guarantees, warranties etc.

 5.  Duties and liabilities of inventory e-commerce entities:

1.  They shall provide accurate information regarding return, refund, exchange, warranty, guarantee, delivery, shipment, mode of payments and grievance redressal mechanism in a clear and accessible manner.

• They shall also provide information regarding payment methods, procedure to cancel payments, fees or charges payable by users, charge back options etc.

• They shall provide a ticket number for each complaint lodged through which the consumer can track the status of complaint.

• They shall provide total price in single figure of any  goods and services along with the  breakup price for the goods and services.

• They shall ensure that advertisements of goods and services are consistent with actual characteristics, access and usage conditions of such goods or services.

• They shall not refuse to take back goods or discontinue services or refuse to refund consideration, if such goods or services are defective, deficient etc.,

A person with Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) can live and work in India indefinitely. However unlike an Indian Citizen, he cannot vote, have no right to hold constitutional offices, and no right to buy agricultural properties. He is also exempt from registration with the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) on his arrival in India.

An OCI is allowed to set up a proprietorship concern in India, on non-repatriation basis. The money to conduct the business should come from Indian Bank accounts in INR. The OCI should have a PAN Number and Indian Valid Address proof (ideally Aadhaar). The OCI can also buy/rent/ lease immovable property in India for the purpose of his business, except agricultural land.

If the OCI intends to put in any money at any point in time in the business from an overseas account, such a transfers qualify as an FDI and FDIs are not permitted in Sole Proprietorship.

The basic licenses/registrations required are registration under the Shops and Establishment Act and GST Registration.

Important documents required are Passport, Aadhar, PAN and address proof for the business establishment.

1. A minor is a person below the age of 18 years. The Reserve Bank of India, on May 6, 2014, issued a notification regarding the opening and operating minors’ accounts.

2. A minor of any age can open a savings/fixed/recurring bank deposit account through his/her natural or legally appointed guardian.

3. Minors above the age of 10 years may be allowed to open and operate savings bank accounts independently, if they so desire. Banks may, however, fix limits in terms of age and amount up to which minors may be allowed to operate the deposit accounts independently.

4. Banks can also decide, in their own discretion, as to what minimum documents are required for opening of accounts by minors. Usually Pan Card details of the parent/ guardian are required. Also, the parent/guardian should have an account in the bank where they wish to open the minor’s account.

5. On attaining majority, the minor should confirm the balance in his/her account and if the account is operated by the natural guardian/legal guardian, fresh operating instructions and specimen signature of the erstwhile minor should be obtained and kept on record for all operational purposes.

6. Banks are free to offer additional banking facilities, such as, internet banking, ATM/debit card, cheque book facility etc., subject to the safeguards that minor accounts are not allowed to be overdrawn and that these always remain in credit.

7. The interest earned on the amount saved in minor bank accounts is taxable. Usually, the interest from a minor account is clubbed with the parent/guardian’s income and is considered taxable. Any income that accrues or is paid to a minor is added to the parent’s income under section 64(1A) and the parent will be taxed just like if it were their own income. However, if the interest earned is less than Rs. 1,500, then a tax exemption equal to the amount of interest earned is granted. If both the mother and father are earning, the income of the minor is added to the income of that parent whose income is greater.

Due to the over 60-day lockdown demanded by the Covid-19 pandemic, several businesses, especially the MSMEs, have suffered humongous monetary loss. In a developing country like ours, a res integra situation of the like, will only hamper and dampen the growing economy, leading to various disturbances amongst the people. Therefore, with a view to revive and strengthen the MSMEs, which are often regarded as huge contributors to the Indian economy, the President of India, promulgated The Insolvency And Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, on the 5th day of June, 2020. Prior to the instant Ordinance, the Union Finance Minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, announced an economic package of 20,000 crores for the MSMEs and also a breather by the way of suspending Sections 7, 9 and 10 of The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. In furtherance of the same, the instant ordinance was promulgated by the President of India.
The instant Ordinance adds to The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, a new section, viz. Section 10A. This section states that no application can be made or preferred to initiate corporate insolvency resolution process against a corporate debtor, for a default which arises on or post the 25th day of March, 2020, for a term of six months or more, but not exceeding one year. It also states that corporate insolvency resolution process can never be initiated against a corporate debtor for his default which occurred during the said period. It insulates the corporate debtors, completely. This Ordinance does not apply to defaults or corporate debtors which arose prior to the 25th day of March, 2020. Therefore, financial and operational creditors can file applications thereby initiating corporate insolvency resolution process against the corporate debtor, only if the default arose before the said date.
Also, vide the instant Ordinance, a sub-section has been added, viz sub-section (3) of Section 66 of The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. This provision states that a resolution professional cannot file an application with respect to the default that arose after the 25th day of March, 2020.

Authored by:
Vishnu P.V
Advocate

In an economy wherein, transactions between suppliers and buyers are several and numerous, an instance might occur wherein the buyer of the goods or services, does not pay the agreed upon consideration or value of the goods or services availed by him, to the supplier. To insulate such a supplier, and also reprimand the buyer defaulting with his payments, an authority, namely, the “Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council” was brought in by the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006.

According to Section 15 of this Act, when a supplier, who is registered as a micro or a small enterprise, supplies any goods or renders any services to a buyer, the buyer must make the payment for the said goods or services, as the case maybe, on or before the date which is agreed to in writing by the parties, or if there is no such agreement, then before the appointed day, which is within 15 days from the day of acceptance or the day of deemed acceptance of the goods or services, as the case may be. Such period agreed to by the parties in writing, must not exceed 45 days from the day of acceptance or the day of deemed acceptance.

Section 16 of the Act states that, if the buyer fails to make payment of the amount to the supplier, as mandated under Section 15 of the Act, the buyer shall, irrespective of what is contained in any agreement between the supplier and the buyer, or in any law, be liable to pay compound interest with monthly rests to the supplier on that amount from the appointed day, or as the case may be, from the date immediately following the date agreed to, at three times the bank rate notified by the Reserve Bank of India.

Section 18 of the Act states that, any party to a dispute can make a reference to the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council. The mode of settlement to be employed by the Facilitation Council shall be conciliation, an amicable method of Alternative Dispute Resolution. The Facilitation Council can either conclude the conciliation by itself or refer it to a suitable institution for the same. If the process of conciliation goes in vain, the Facilitation Council, shall then employ arbitration as the method of settlement of the dispute in hand. The arbitration proceedings can either be concluded by the Facilitation Council itself or referred to a suitable institution for the same. Such references of disputes by parties to the Facilitation Council, shall be adjudicated and decided within 90 days from the date of making such references.

Section 19 of the Act states that, if an order or decree, delivered in a dispute, by the Facilitation Council, either by way of conciliation or arbitration, is challenged by the aggrieved party (not being the supplier) by making an application to the Court, he must first deposit with it 75% of the amount decided by the Facilitation Council, in its order or decree. The Court shall order a percentage of such amount to be paid to the decree-holder, which shall depend on the facts and circumstances of the case.

Sub-rule (iv) of Rule 3 of the Karnataka State Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council Rules, 2018, states that, the State Government may specify any fee and for processing charges paid while filing application.

Sub-rule (i) of Rule 7 of the Rules, provides that, an aggrieved Micro or Small Enterprise unit can move a reference to the Facilitation Council which has jurisdiction of the area, in the format provided as Schedule-1 of these Rules. The said reference must contain the Udyog Aadhar Memorandum (UAM) number, mobile number and e-mail address of the aggrieved Micro or Small Enterprise unit as provided in Schedule-1.

The Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council is of much relief to the micro and small enterprises in our country, as it helps them to avoid the long delays and huge Court fees, in case they had to approach an ordinary Court of law, for the recovery of money.

Authored by:
Adv VISHNU P.V
Associate,
MENTO ASSOCIATES

Non-Performing Asset or NPA, is a term which is used to refer to a situation when the banks or financial institutions are unable to retrieve the principal or interest from the advances or loans made by them to the borrowers. The term was used extensively in the case of Dr. Vijay Mallya, as he could neither pay back the principal amount nor the interest accrued on the same, to the banks and financial institutions, which he had borrowed from. Let us now study the concept of a Non-Performing Asset (NPA) in brief.

Non-Performing Asset (NPA) is a kind of a loan wherein the principal amount or the interest amounts are paid late or have not been paid by the borrower to the lender. In other words, if the customers do not repay the principal amount and the interest amount, for a certain period of time, then such loans are considered as Non-Performing Assets (NPAs). Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) are Non-Performing Loans. For an asset to be classified as a Non-Performing Asset (NPA), it takes a period of 90 days for the banks to do so, in India. Until 2004, the stipulated period for classifying a regular or standard account as a Non-Performing Asset, was 180 days. The said period was modified from 180 days to 90 days, keeping in mind the international norms and rules on the concept of classifying a regular account as a Non-Performing Asset (NPA).

Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) are classified into four types, depending on the possibility and probability of their recovery, namely,
1) Standard Assets: These are a kind of performing assets which create continuous income and repayments as and when they become due. They carry a normal risk and are not Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) in the real sense. No special provisions are needed for standard assets.
2) Sub-Standard Assets: These are loans which are in the nature of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) for a period of 12 months.
3) Doubtful Assets: Assets which are non-performing for a period of over 12 months, fall under this category.
4) Loss Assets: Assets which are incapable of being recovered by the lending institutions, fall under this category.

When the defaulter or borrower pays to the bank the sums due from his end, whether it is the interest accrued on the advance or the principal amount itself, the bank will modify or convert such a Non-Performing Asset (NPA) back to a regular or standard account. Therefore, for a Non-Performing Asset (NPA) to become good or a regular account, all the dues must be paid by the borrower to the bank. This concept of regularisation is an incentive, since it encourages the borrowers to clear their dues with the banks, and restore their advances as regular accounts.

Authored by:

Advocate VISHNU PV

Associate

1. GST (Goods and Services Tax) is an indirect tax which came into effect on 01-07-2017. It is levied on the supply of goods and services. It replaced many other indirect taxes that existed in the country and brought in one indirect tax for the entire country. It is a comprehensive, multistage, destination based tax, which is levied on every value addition.
2. It is a multistage tax, as it is levied at various stages-from manufacturing to final sale to the consumer. It is levied on the value addition that happens at each stage, during the sale of a product. GST is destination based, as it is levied at the point of consumption- the entire tax will go to the place where the goods are finally consumed.
3. Businesses whose turnover exceeds Rs 40 lakhs per annum (Rs 10 lakhs for North East and Hill states) require registration under GST Act and they will be provided a GST Identification Number(GSTIN).For few businesses GST registration is compulsory irrespective of the turnover limits.  
4. Advantages of GST:
5. It removes the cascading effect( tax on tax effect)  and attempts to reduce the cost of goods
6. It is more technologically driven.
7. There are 3 taxes that are under the GST regime:
8. CGST- Central Goods and Services Tax-levied on intra state sales- Collected by Central government- 50% goes to the Central Government and 50% goes to the State Government
9. SGST- State Goods and Services Tax-levied on intra state sales- Collected by State Government- 50% goes to the Central Government and 50% goes to the State Government
10. IGST- Integrated Goods and Services Tax-levied on interstate sales-Collected by Central government and shared between Central Government  and States.

With a section of the General Public not in a mood to stay indoors and support the governmental initiatives for controlling the deadly Corona virus, the various state and Central governments are resorting to penal provisions to book the offenders. Some of the commonly resorted penal provisions are discussed below:
EPIDEMIC DISEASES ACT, 1897 Section 3 – Penalty- Any person disobeying any regulation or order made under this Act shall be deemed to have committed an offence punishable under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code 1860.
INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860 Section 143 IPC- Punishment for being a member of an unlawful assembly-Whoever is a member of an unlawful assembly, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both.
INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860 Section 147 IPC- Punishment for rioting- Whoever is guilty of rioting, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860 Section 149 – Every member of unlawful assembly is guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object
INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860 Section 188 – Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant- An offender shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.
INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860 Section 269 – Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life- Whoever unlawfully or negligently does any act which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe to be, likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both.
INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860 Section 270 – Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life- Whoever malignantly does any act which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe to be, likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860 Section 283 – Danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation- Whoever, by doing any act, or by omitting to take order with any property in his possession or under his charge, causes danger, obstruction or injury to any person in any public way or public line of navigation, shall be punished with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees.

For most Indians, the term LOC would normally mean the Line of Control. However in Indian legal context LOC means Lookout Circular.

Meaning of LOC:
•It is a circular used by authorities to check whether a travelling person is wanted by the police. LOC is a coercive measure to make a person surrender to investigating agency or courts of law. It is generally issued against absconding criminals/ accused to stop them from entering or crossing borders or to track /detain the wanted person and hand them over to appropriate authority.

Types of LOC:
•Local LOC: It is limited to a particular town / city area. In this case, usually the LOC is issued to the local Airport, Sea port, Train or Bus stations.

•National LOC: Is a nationwide circular to all the Airports, Seaports, and border agencies across the border within a country.

•International LOC: International circular to different countries’ Airports, Seaports and across the international Border agencies. This has a limitation of bilateral understanding between the countries.

•Section 498A IPC and LOC: Usually issued by the Police against the accused NRI husband and his family members after the Police register an FIR. In some cases, the Court orders the same against the accused NRI’s, if the accused does not surrender to the court within the stipulated time interval given.

Authority to issue LOC:
•LOC can be issued only with the approval of an officer not below the rank of Deputy Secretary to the Government of India/ Joint Secretary in the State Government /Superintendent of Police concerned at the district level. It can also be issued by the court before which the criminal case lies.

Principles to issue LOC:
The basic guidelines regarding the issuance of LOC’s in relation to Indian citizens issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs are as follows:

•The request to issue/opening of LOC must be issued with the approval of an officer in authority. The authorities includes the Ministry of Home Affair, Ministry of External Affairs, the Customs and Income Tax Department, Directorate of Revenue intelligence, Central Bureau of Investigation, Court, Interpol, Regional passport Officers, Police authorities in various States, etc.

•Lookout circulars/notice for all immigration check posts against any Indian person can be issued only in the format prepared by the Home Ministry.

•The notice issuing agency must give full identification details of the accused person on an already prescribed format. LOC will not be issued for less than three identity parameters other than name of the accused.

Performa of LOC:
•The request for opening of LOC is required to be made to all immigration Check-posts in the country in the Official Format prescribed by the MHA.
•The details of the person looked out for in the circular includes: Name, address, Picture / photo or description of the person’s physical appearance, Passport number/details, other unique identification card number, alleged offence details / case involved in.
•In cases linked to, terrorist, anti national elements etc, LOC can be issued without complying with all rules, parameters or prescribed Performa.

Validity of LOC:
•LOC is valid for a period of one year. However, in case the originating agency wants to extend the validity beyond one year, it can ask for the extension before the expiry of the one-year period. If no request is made for the extension of the LOC within the stipulated period of one year, the Immigration Officer concerned is authorized to suspend the LOC.
•In the case of Court and Interpol, LOC does not expire within one year.

Consequences of LOC:
•Issuance of LOC can impact different persons differently. It curtails person’s ability to travel in and outside of country. The person has to face arrest or detention at the place where found.

Right to Information:
LOC is highly confidential document. Unless the case is high profile, whether the LOC is issued or not is not known to public at large.

Still one can try to get the information from the following sources:

•Police Station where the FIR is lodged
•District SP/DSP Office or similar rank officer in any investing agency.
•Immigration Authorities
•Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in case of NRI.
•Trial Court records, if court have initiated the issuance of LOC.

Steps to be followed when LOC is issued:
•Have all the legal documents with you.
•Obtain Anticipatory bail in the case.
•Confirm whether the LOC is issued against you by the police / court and also the type of LOC.
•Show the certified copy of the Anticipatory bail to the authorities whilst entering the country. For e.g.: to immigration officers in the airport during the immigration check.
•Authorities should take a photocopy of the Anticipatory bail and hand back the original to you, so that you take your originals with you and proceed.
•Moreover, if the authorities try to detain you, get in touch with concerned Police (Sub Inspector / Deputy Superintendent Police/Investigating Officer) to inform the immigration authorities that you are already enlarged on Anticipatory bail and that they do not require your arrest. If they fail to do so, the victim can file a complaint against them next day detailing the violation of your rights and the contempt of the court order i.e. Anticipatory bail.
•Whilst regularizing the bail or whilst seeking the regular bail in the court, file a supplementary application seeking the LOC to be lifted.
•Failing to file supplementary application, one should look for the bail conditions to make sure there are no restrictions like not to leave the country without prior permission of the court. If there is such condition, please do get the permission from the court and keep the certified copy of the court’s order permitting your departure from the country to produce before the immigration officers in the airport or sea-port.
•One need to push the police to forward the court order to the concerned authorities (the concerned police station and in turn to the immigration authority at the port) to lift the LOC altogether as well as keeping the certified copy with yourself in hand. You need to request the copy of the confirmation for the same from the Police or ask for a letter confirming the same (this is in addition to the court order).

Cancellation or Lifting of LOC:
LOC can be withdrawn by the authority that issued and can also be rescinded by the trial court where case is pending or having jurisdiction over concerned police station on an application by the person concerned.
After getting LOC withdrawn by the authority or court, apply for multiple certified copies of the same. Provide one certified copy with covering letter to investigating officer; SP/DSP concerned and send a copy to the nodal officer at, ‘Deputy Director, Bureau of Immigration (Bol), East Block-VIII, R K Puram, New Delhi-110066.
If you have LOC removal court order, the immigration officer would contact the originator and only on confirmation the LOC will be cancelled or lifted.

Authored by:
Adv. Shirin Yusuf,
Associate,
MENTO ASSOCIATES.