The Delhi High Court on Wednesday, 7 October 2026 permitted Harinder Dahiya, Senior Director of Finance and Accounts at Vivo Mobile India, to travel to Bangkok, Thailand from 12 to 15 October for official business meetings, directing simultaneous suspension of the Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against him during that four-day window.

A single-judge bench of Justice Sachin Datta also ordered the release of Dahiya's passport for the period and imposed strict conditions governing his travel, including mandatory reporting obligations upon return.

Why Dahiya Needed Court Permission

Dahiya had approached the Delhi High Court challenging a 19 March 2026 order of the Patiala House Courts, which had rejected his earlier plea seeking the setting aside of the LOC, permission to travel abroad, and release of his passport. The LOC had effectively grounded him as part of an Enforcement Directorate (ED) money-laundering investigation linked to Vivo India.

The four-day Bangkok trip, according to Dahiya's application, was required for official meetings concerning statutory audit matters, audit and control transformation, litigation, and business and finance strategy at the company.

ED's Opposition and the Court's Response

The Enforcement Directorate opposed the travel application, arguing that Dahiya, in his capacity as Director and Chief Financial Officer of Vivo India, had allegedly played a key role in the siphoning of proceeds of crime estimated at approximately ₹20,241 crore. The agency contended that the official meetings could be conducted virtually.

The ED also relied on an earlier High Court order that had dismissed the travel application of co-accused Guangwen Kuang, also known as Andrew Kuang. However, Justice Datta ruled that precedent did not apply to Dahiya's case, noting that the earlier refusal was grounded in Kuang's foreign nationality and the absence of an extradition treaty with China. Dahiya, as an Indian national travelling to Thailand, 'stood on a different footing,' the court observed.

Conditions Imposed on Dahiya

The court's permission came with substantial safeguards. Dahiya has been directed to:

— Deposit original title documents of his immovable assets with the High Court Registry as security until his return.
— Furnish his travel itinerary, flight details, address of stay, and contact number in Thailand to the investigating officer and the trial court.
— Intimate the investigating officer and the trial court within 24 hours of his return to India.
— Re-deposit his passport within the same 24-hour window and appear before the trial court on the next scheduled date.

The court also explicitly barred Dahiya from contacting any witness, tampering with evidence, or undertaking any action prejudicial to the ongoing proceedings.

Automatic Revival of LOC After October 15

The LOC will automatically revive after 15 October, the court clarified. Justice Datta further stated that his observations were confined strictly to the present travel application and would not constitute an expression of opinion on the merits of the underlying case.

The ruling is a conditional reprieve for Dahiya as the larger ED money-laundering case — centred on alleged proceeds of crime worth over ₹20,000 crore — continues to move through the courts. Legal observers note that Indian courts routinely balance personal liberty and international movement rights against the state's interest in preventing flight risk, particularly in high-value financial crime investigations.