The Karnataka High Court has ruled that an adult cannot be held in parental custody or subjected to their parents’ matrimonial disputes, affirming that major individuals possess the fundamental right to travel independently under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj issued the ruling on July 1, ordering the Bureau of Immigration to immediately remove travel restrictions and cancel a Look Out Circular that had been active since 2006. The restrictions stemmed from a legal battle between the parents of Anurag Seth, who is now 30 years old.
The issue came to light in 2024 when Seth attempted to travel abroad and was barred from doing so. Immigration authorities informed him that a 2006 Look Out Circular remained active against his name. The restriction was originally based on an interlocutory order issued on March 17, 2006, by a family court in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
Origins Of The Travel Restriction
The original travel ban was initiated during divorce and custody proceedings between Seth’s parents. The father had filed an application requesting the family court to prevent the mother from taking their children out of India while the legal proceedings were ongoing.
In response, the family court issued a temporary order restraining the mother from taking the minor children abroad, or sending them out of the country through any third party, without explicit court permission until the final resolution of the case. This specific order formed the basis for the Look Out Circular issued that same year.
Seth challenged the ongoing restriction in court, arguing that a travel ban imposed on him as a minor during a custody battle could not legally extend into his adulthood. He noted that he had attained majority nearly 14 years ago, meaning the Look Out Circular should have been cancelled or withdrawn long ago.
High Court Ruling And Legal Clarity
The Karnataka High Court agreed with the petitioner, stating that the family court’s temporary order automatically lost its effect the moment Seth became an adult. The court emphasized that an interlocutory order from a childhood custody dispute and the travel rights of an adult stand on completely distinct legal footings and cannot be conflated.
The High Court also highlighted that the Indore family court had already been informed that the children reached adulthood. Consequently, the father was officially discharged from the protective custody of the children, and the original family court application was fully disposed of in 2023.
While Justice Govindaraj noted that authorities could not be blamed for not initially cancelling the Look Out Circular back in 2006, he stated that the Bureau of Immigration was required to withdraw the notice as soon as they were informed of the changed circumstances. Because the authorities failed to act voluntarily, the High Court ruled in favor of Seth and ordered the absolute removal of the travel restrictions.
