The Punjab and Haryana High Court has allowed Raka Ghirra, a former Punjab Police deputy superintendent of police (DSP) convicted in a bribery case, to travel abroad for a month, subject to stringent conditions including furnishing securities worth Rs 40 lakh.

Ghirra was convicted in 2024 in a 2011 bribery case and sentenced to six years of rigorous imprisonment by a Chandigarh CBI court for accepting Rs 1-lakh bribe.

Hearing applications in the matter, Justice Aman Chaudhary permitted the 61-year-old to visit Spain, Switzerland and Czechia from April 10 to May 10. The court recorded submissions that she had earlier been granted permission to travel abroad during trial on December 1, 2016, and again on December 10, 2019, and had returned on time on both occasions. She now sought permission for a one-month visit to the three countries.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) opposed the plea but sought imposition of strict conditions if permission was to be granted.

Allowing the plea, the court relied on judicial precedents, observing that “the right to travel abroad is an important basic human right”, as held in Satish Chandra Verma vs Union of India, with reference to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Maneka Gandhi vs Union of India.

The court also referred to rulings in Parvez Noordin Lokhandwalla vs State of Maharashtra and Srichand P Hinduja vs State through CBI, where similar reliefs had been granted with conditions.

Granting permission, the court directed the applicant to furnish bail bonds backed by property documents, a surety of Rs 30 lakh from a family member, and a bank guarantee of Rs 10 lakh, which would be forfeited if she failed to return within the stipulated period.

She has also been directed to submit her travel itinerary, e-tickets and visa details, and to undertake that she will return within the permitted period and appear before authorities within three days of her return, after which she must surrender her passport.

The court further restricted her travel strictly to Spain, Switzerland and Czechia and directed that copies of the order be sent to the embassies concerned in New Delhi. She has also been asked to keep her mobile number and email operational throughout the travel period.