In short. If a bail or anticipatory bail order says you cannot leave India without the court's permission, or your passport is with the court, you must apply to the right court before you travel. The court weighs the purpose, your record of appearing, and the risk you will not return, and usually allows travel on conditions. Trial courts commonly decide within one to four weeks; the High Court acts on urgent dates. Read your bail order today, note the travel dates, and start the application three to four weeks ahead.
Is this your situation?
- Your bail or anticipatory bail order says you shall not leave India without permission of the court.
- Your passport was deposited with the trial court or the investigating officer as a bail condition.
- You are an NRI who came to India, got arrested or named in a case, and now need to go back to your job abroad.
- You have a business trip, a family wedding, a child's admission or medical treatment abroad on a fixed date.
- You were allowed to travel once before and now need permission for another trip, or an extension while abroad.
- The trial court refused permission and you want the High Court to look at it.
- Your passport has expired and the passport office wants a court order before renewing it.
First check whether you need permission at all
Many people assume that any pending criminal case bars foreign travel. It does not. What restricts you is a specific condition in an order, a passport held by the court or police, a Look Out Circular, or a passport office that will not renew. Before anything else, read the bail order, the anticipatory bail order, or the bail bond you signed before the trial court, and look for words like "shall not leave India" or "shall not leave the country without prior permission".
If the order has such a condition, travel without permission is a breach, even for two days, even to attend a funeral. If it has no such condition and your passport is with you, a court order is usually not legally required, though you should still make sure you will not miss a date, and that no LOC has been opened. A person who is only a witness, or who has a complaint pending against him in which he has not been summoned, generally has no court condition to comply with.
When Advocate B.K. Singh is asked whether a client can travel, the first document he asks for is the exact bail order, because the answer often lies in one line of it. A condition that says "permission of this court" in a High Court order sends you to the High Court; a condition that says "permission of the trial court" sends you to the trial court, which is quicker and cheaper.
The law that governs travel while a case is pending
Section 482(2), BNSS (old Section 438(2) CrPC)
The anticipatory bail provision expressly lets the court impose a condition that the person shall not leave India without its previous permission. It is one of the most common conditions in anticipatory bail orders passed by Delhi courts.
Sections 480 and 483, BNSS (old Sections 437 and 439 CrPC)
Regular bail can be granted on conditions the court considers necessary to secure attendance and a fair investigation and trial. A travel restriction and deposit of passport are routinely imposed under these powers. The same court can relax or modify the condition later.
Article 21 of the Constitution
The right to travel abroad is part of personal liberty (Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, 1978; Satish Chandra Verma v. Union of India, 2019). A bail condition limiting travel must serve a real purpose, which is to secure the accused's presence and protect the process. In Parvez Noordin Lokhandwalla v. State of Maharashtra (2020) the Supreme Court looked at travel conditions in this light and stressed that they must be proportionate to the risk of flight.
Sections 228 and 355, BNSS (old Sections 205 and 317 CrPC)
These let the court dispense with the accused's personal attendance in suitable cases and continue the proceeding through counsel. They matter because a travel application usually goes with a request for exemption on the dates that fall during the trip.
Which court to apply to
Apply to the court whose order contains the condition, unless that order itself sends you elsewhere. If a Delhi district court granted bail, the application goes to the same court or, once the case has moved to the trial court after the chargesheet, to the trial court at Tis Hazari, Saket, Patiala House, Karkardooma, Rohini, Dwarka or Rouse Avenue, depending on where the case sits. CBI and ED matters in Delhi are heard by special courts at Rouse Avenue.
If the Delhi High Court granted bail or anticipatory bail and wrote "without permission of this court", the application is filed as a miscellaneous application in the bail matter, even though the bail petition was disposed of. Many High Court orders now direct that travel requests be made to the trial court, which spares you a trip to Sher Shah Road.
If the trial court refuses permission or imposes conditions you cannot meet, the High Court can be approached by a petition under Section 528 BNSS (old Section 482 CrPC) or under Article 227. A revision is often unsuitable for this kind of order, so the choice of remedy needs thought. Our page on criminal revision in the Delhi High Court explains where revision fits.
If the case is pending outside Delhi, in Gurugram, Noida or elsewhere, the application goes to the court there. A Delhi court cannot relax a condition imposed by a court in another state.
What the court weighs before allowing travel
- Your record so far. Have you appeared on every date, joined the investigation when asked, and returned on time from any earlier permitted trip? A clean record is the single most persuasive fact.
- Purpose and duration. A ten-day trade fair, a sibling's wedding or a surgery with a fixed appointment is easier to allow than an open-ended stay. Vague reasons such as "personal work" invite refusal.
- Stage of the case. Travel is harder to obtain when the investigation is at a sensitive stage or witnesses are being examined, and easier during a long gap between dates or after evidence is over.
- Nature of the allegation and amounts involved. In cheating and economic offences the court looks at how much money is said to be involved and whether any has been repaid or deposited.
- Roots in India. Property, family, business, a job you will return to, children in school here.
- Ties abroad. Assets, residency or citizenship abroad are not disqualifying, but they make the court more careful about security and undertakings.
- Objection of the prosecution or complainant. Specific objections backed by facts weigh more than general opposition.
How a travel permission application is made
This is the usual sequence before a Delhi trial court; a High Court application follows the same logic.
Read the order and collect the trip papers
Confirm which court must give permission and whether your passport is held by the court or the investigating officer. Gather the invitation, appointment, conference registration or employment letter, the proposed itinerary and the tentative return booking.
Draft the application
The application sets out the case details, the bail order and its condition, the purpose, dates and address abroad, your record of compliance, earlier travel with return, and the conditions you offer. It asks for release of the passport if it is deposited, and exemption from appearance on any date that falls during the trip.
File and serve the prosecution
The application is filed with an affidavit and a copy is given to the Public Prosecutor, and through him to the investigating officer. Where the complainant or victim is entitled to be heard, a copy goes to her or her counsel as well.
Reply from the IO and hearing
The court usually calls for a reply from the investigating officer on whether there is any objection. The application is then argued, often within one to three weeks. Urgent dates can be brought to the court's notice for an earlier hearing.
Order with conditions
If allowed, the order states the countries, dates, security and undertakings. Ask that it also mention release of the passport, the LOC position if any, and exemption on dates that fall during travel.
Comply, return and report
Furnish the security, collect the passport, travel, return on time, deposit the passport again if so directed, and file a short compliance report or appear on the next date. Keep boarding passes and passport stamps as proof.
Book refundable or changeable tickets until the order is in hand. Courts dislike being told that a non-refundable ticket has already been bought, and it does not help your case.
Time and cost at each stage
| Stage | Typical time | Court fee and costs |
|---|---|---|
| Reading the order, collecting trip papers | One to five days | No court fee |
| Filing the application in the trial court | A day or two after papers are ready | Nominal court fee on the application; check the current court fee |
| IO's reply and hearing | One to three weeks; quicker if urgency is shown | Nil |
| Order and compliance | Same day to a week after hearing | Security or fixed deposit if ordered, usually refunded after return as directed |
| Application in the Delhi High Court (where its order restricts travel) | Listing often within one to two weeks; earlier on urgent mentioning | Nominal court fee; check the current court fee |
| Challenge to a refusal in the High Court | Two to eight weeks to a decision, depending on urgency | Nominal court fee; certified copies of trial court orders |
| Extension while abroad | Should be filed well before the return date; decided in days to weeks | Nominal court fee |
Documents for a travel application
Case papers
- Bail or anticipatory bail order showing the travel condition
- FIR number, police station, case number and next date
- Order sheets showing your appearances
- Any earlier travel permission orders and proof of return on time
Trip papers
- Invitation, conference registration, wedding card, hospital letter or employment letter
- Itinerary with tentative onward and return bookings
- Full address and phone number abroad, and the name of a contact person
- Visa copy, or proof that the visa has been applied for
Roots and security
- Passport (or receipt showing where it is deposited)
- Proof of residence, property and family in India
- Income tax returns, salary slips or business records
- For NRIs: residence permit, employment contract, children's school records abroad
Conditions courts usually attach
An order permitting travel is almost never unconditional. Common conditions in Delhi are: a fixed deposit receipt or security of a stated sum in the name of the court, an undertaking by affidavit to return on a fixed date, the address and phone number abroad, a copy of the return ticket, informing the investigating officer before leaving and on return, keeping the phone switched on and reachable, and re-depositing the passport within a few days of return.
The amount of security is set by the court. It depends on the allegations, the money involved in the case, your means and how long you will be away. In some cases a relative in India is asked to stand as a surety for the period of travel, or an existing surety is asked to confirm in writing that he continues.
Read the order carefully the day it is passed. If a condition is unworkable, for instance a deposit you cannot arrange in time, ask for a modification at once rather than missing the trip or breaking the condition. The guide on common bail conditions imposed by the Delhi High Court lists others you may already be bound by.
NRIs who need to go back and live abroad
The hardest cases are NRIs who came to India for a short visit, were arrested or named in an FIR, and now need to return to a job and family overseas for an indefinite period. A one-trip permission does not solve their problem. What they need is a modification of the bail condition that lets them reside abroad while the case continues, on terms that secure their presence when it actually matters.
Courts have allowed this in suitable cases, usually with conditions such as: appearance through counsel on routine dates with exemption under Section 355 BNSS, personal appearance for specific stages such as framing of charge and the accused's statement under Section 351 BNSS (old Section 313 CrPC), joining by video where the court permits it, a substantial security, and an undertaking to return within a fixed time on being called. Proceedings in electronic mode are recognised under the BNSS, which helps.
In matrimonial cases, where the complainant wife fears the husband will never come back, the court is more cautious and the security tends to be higher. Our pages on Delhi High Court work for NRI clients and the guide on anticipatory bail for NRIs abroad cover the earlier stages.
When the passport or a Look Out Circular is the real obstacle
Court permission alone does not get you through immigration if an LOC is active. Immigration officers act on the database, not on your copy of a trial court order, unless the originating agency has communicated the suspension. Ask the court to direct the investigating agency to inform the Bureau of Immigration that the LOC is suspended for the permitted period, and confirm that this has been done before you fly. If there is no case before a court that can deal with the LOC, the remedy is a writ, explained on our page on getting a Look Out Circular quashed or suspended.
If your passport has expired, or the passport office refuses renewal because a criminal case is pending, the passport rules allow issue with the permission of the criminal court where the case is pending, under the Government notification GSR 570(E) of 25 August 1993. The court order should state the period for which the passport may be issued. Our page on passport refusal and impounding and the guide on getting a passport while a case is pending explain how to word the request.
A made-up example: a Janakpuri exporter and a trade fair
Here's a made-up example. Harpreet runs a garment export unit in Janakpuri. A buyer filed a cheating complaint over a disputed consignment, and the Economic Offences Wing registered an FIR. She got anticipatory bail from the Sessions Court with a condition not to leave India without permission, and her passport was deposited. The chargesheet has been filed and the case is at the stage of arguments on charge, with the next date three months away.
She is invited to a trade fair in Dubai for eight days. Her application attaches the invitation, her stall booking, a return ticket on hold, her Dubai hotel booking, her past travel record (four trips in five years, all with return), and order sheets showing she has never missed a date. The prosecution says the amount in dispute is large. The court allows travel on a fixed deposit, an undertaking to return by a fixed date, informing the IO before departure and after return, and re-depositing the passport within three days of return. She complies and files proof. When she needs to go again next year, that compliance is the first thing her lawyer points to.
Travel while the investigation is still open
Permission is harder to get before the chargesheet is filed, and the reason is practical. The investigating officer may still want to question you, confront you with documents, or take your specimen signature, and he will tell the court so in his reply. If you have joined the investigation each time you were called, say so with dates and copies of the notices, because the IO's objection usually rests on the claim that you are still needed.
A useful approach is to offer something concrete: to appear before the IO on a fixed date before leaving, to give an email and foreign number on which notices can be served, and to return within a set number of days if called. Courts often accept that. Before filing such an application, Advocate B.K. Singh usually has the client write to the IO offering a date to appear, so that the court sees the offer was made before the trip was asked for, not as an afterthought at the hearing. Where the IO points to a specific pending step, such as a confrontation with a co-accused, the court may allow travel only after that step is completed. It is better to arrange that step with the IO in advance than to argue about it in court.
Once the chargesheet is filed and the investigation is over, the IO's objection usually weakens, and the court's main concern becomes your presence on trial dates.
How the security amount is fixed, and getting it back
There is no fixed table for security. The court looks at the allegations, the amount said to be involved in a money case, your income and assets, the length of the trip and how much of a pull the foreign country has on you. A salaried person going for a week's holiday will usually be asked for less than a businessman with a residence permit abroad going for two months in a large cheating case.
The security is usually given as a fixed deposit receipt pledged in favour of the court, or as a local surety. If the amount ordered is beyond your means, say so at once with your income tax returns and bank statements and ask for it to be reduced. Courts do adjust, and the request is better made on the day than in a fresh application a week later.
After you return and comply, apply for release of the fixed deposit if the order does not release it automatically. Some courts keep it for the duration of the trial if more trips are expected. Keep proof of return, the stamped passport pages and the boarding pass, because the release application will need them.
Extensions, emergencies and repeated trips
If something goes wrong abroad, a hospital admission, a flight cancellation, a visa delay, apply for an extension before the return date. Your lawyer in Delhi can file it on the basis of documents sent by email, with an affidavit to follow. An extension sought in time, with proof, is usually granted for a reasonable period. An explanation after the date has passed is treated very differently and can lead to the security being forfeited.
For genuine emergencies, such as the sudden death of a parent abroad, the application can be mentioned for an urgent hearing the same or next day in many courts. Keep the death certificate or hospital papers ready, even as a phone photograph to start with.
People who travel often for work sometimes ask for a standing permission for repeated trips. Some courts grant a general relaxation once a long record of compliance is shown, usually with a condition to inform the court or the IO before each trip. It is earned over time; it is rarely granted at the first request.
Mistakes that lead to refusal or worse
- Travelling without permission. This is a breach of a bail condition. It can lead to cancellation of bail, forfeiture of the bond and a fresh warrant. See what happens if you violate bail conditions.
- Applying to the wrong court. Filing before the Magistrate when the condition was imposed by the High Court, or the other way round, costs weeks.
- Not disclosing earlier trips or refusals. The prosecution will mention them. The court expects you to have done so first.
- A vague purpose. "Business work" with no documents rarely succeeds. Give names, dates and papers.
- Leaving the LOC for later. A court order that does not deal with an active LOC leaves you stuck at the airport.
- Late return. Even a few days' delay without an extension damages every future application you make, and can affect co-accused who ask for the same relief.
For the complainant or victim
A complainant who fears the accused will not return is entitled to say so, and in some categories of cases the victim has a right to be heard. The useful objections are concrete: the accused has missed dates, has assets or residency abroad, has not repaid money he undertook to pay, or is needed for a pending step in the investigation. Give the court documents, not fears.
Where the court is inclined to allow travel, the complainant can ask for conditions that protect her: a higher security, a shorter period, a surety in India, or travel only after a specific stage, such as the recording of her evidence, is over. Many orders are shaped by what the complainant's counsel asks for at the hearing.
Where the High Court comes in
The Delhi High Court deals with travel in three situations. First, where its own bail or anticipatory bail order says permission must come from it. Second, where a trial court has refused permission or imposed conditions that are disproportionate, and a petition under Section 528 BNSS or Article 227 is filed. Third, where travel is blocked by an LOC or a passport refusal that only a writ can address.
In the High Court, these matters are short and document-driven. The bench usually wants to see the order sheets, the earlier compliance, the travel papers and the prosecution's objection, and it decides on that. If you are also seeking bail, see our page on bail from the Delhi High Court; for pre-arrest protection with travel conditions, see anticipatory bail in the Delhi High Court.
What to do this week
Find the bail order and read the travel condition. Check where your passport is and when it expires. Note your next court date and whether the trip will clash with it. Collect the trip documents and ask your employer, host or hospital for a letter on letterhead. Put a refundable booking on hold rather than buying a fixed ticket.
If you have any doubt about an LOC, raise it now, not at the airport. The guide on travelling abroad while a criminal case is pending gives a short overview you can share with your family. For advice on your own order and travel plans, or for updates on how courts are treating travel conditions, contact Advocate B.K. Singh.
Frequently asked questions
Can I travel abroad if a criminal case is pending against me but I am not on bail?
If no court has imposed a travel condition and your passport is with you, there is usually no court order to obtain. The practical risks are a Look Out Circular, a passport renewal refusal, or missing a date. Check all three before you book.
How many days before travel should I apply for permission?
Three to four weeks is sensible for a trial court, because the IO's reply takes time. For emergencies, courts can hear an urgent application in a day or two. Applying early also gives time to arrange any security the court asks for.
Will the court keep my passport after I return?
If the bail order required the passport to be deposited, the travel order usually says it must be re-deposited within a few days of return. If it was never deposited, the court may not ask for it. Follow the exact words of the order.
Can I get permission to travel abroad in a 498A case?
Yes, courts do allow travel in matrimonial cases, but they are cautious where the husband lives abroad and the wife fears he will not return. Expect conditions such as security, an undertaking and sometimes a surety in India. The wife may oppose and ask for stricter terms.
What if the trial court refuses permission to travel?
You can challenge the refusal in the Delhi High Court, usually under Section 528 BNSS or Article 227, if the case is in Delhi. The High Court looks at whether the refusal is reasonable on the record. A fresh, better documented application to the trial court is sometimes the quicker option.
Is permission needed to travel to Nepal or Bhutan?
A condition not to leave India covers every foreign country, including Nepal and Bhutan where Indians may not need a passport. Travel there without permission is still a breach. Ask the court if in doubt.
Can my lawyer appear for me in court while I am abroad?
Usually yes, if the court grants exemption from personal appearance for those dates. Some stages, such as framing of charge or your statement as accused, may need your presence or a video appearance where permitted. The travel order should deal with this.
Does court permission to travel also remove the Look Out Circular?
Not automatically. The court should direct the agency to inform immigration that the LOC is suspended for the permitted period, and you should confirm that this has been done. Otherwise you may still be stopped at the airport.