Top court rejects plea to reinstate lookout notice against actor Rhea Chakraborty

The Supreme Court observed that the petition to restore the circulars against Rhea Chakraborty in Sushant Singh Rajput death case was "frivolous" and filed merely because the accused were "high-profile".

In Short

• Plea challenges Bombay High Court order quashing the lookout notice
• Supreme Court calls petition 'frivolous'
• Rhea faces FIR in connection with Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking to restore the Look-Out Circulars (LOCs) issued against actor Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, and her father in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan rejected the plea filed by Maharashtra, the CBI, and the Bureau of Immigration challenging the Bombay High Court's quashing of the circular. The bench observed that the petition was "frivolous" and was filed merely because the accused were "high-profile".

The circular was issued in August 2020 against Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, her father Indrajit Chakraborty, an army veteran, and her mother Sandhya, a former teacher in army schools. Issued by the Indian Bureau of Immigration, the notice aimed to prevent individuals facing prosecution from leaving the country or to detain them if they attempted foreign travel.

In February this year, the Bombay High Court quashed the circular, noting that no reasons were cited for its issuance and that it was not reviewed as required under the Consolidated Guidelines.

The Supreme Court, rejecting the petition challenging the Bombay High Court order, 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".

Rhea Chakraborty was reportedly in a relationship with Rajput at the time of his death in June 2020. The cause of death was ruled a suicide, with official postmortem reports confirming that Rajput died of asphyxia due to hanging. Following a complaint from Rajput's family, an FIR was filed against Rhea, and the case was subsequently transferred to the CBI in Delhi.