Hacker Sriki's brother moves HC against travel restrictions

According to the petition, Sudarshan had appeared before the ED officials on three days

The High Court of Karnataka on Monday ordered notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Ministry of External Affairs and Bureau of Immigration in response to the petition filed by Sudarshan Ramesh, brother of hacker Srikrishna alias Sriki who is facing several cases of hacking.

The petitioner, who is a mechanical engineer employed at Brunel and based out at Eindhoven in the Netherlands, has prayed for a quashing of endorsement of January 13, 2022, issued by the ED restraining him from traveling.

Justice Krishna S Dixit has posted the matter to Thursday. The petitioner claimed that he cannot stay outside the Netherlands for a period more than six months in order to retain the Dutch Residence Permit. He arrived in the country on August 12, 2021, to see his father, who is suffering from hypertension and Parkinson’s disease. The petitioner claims to be the only earning member in the family.

According to the petition, Sudarshan had appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on three days - December 29 and 30, 2021, and on January 1, 2022. He said no summons was issued against him after his last visit to the ED office on January 1, 2022.

On January 13, 2022, as he was about to board the flight to the Netherlands, the ED officials restrained him at around 4.20 am. Thereafter, an endorsement was affixed on his passport stating ‘cancelled’. Senior advocate Vikram Huilgol submitted that the action of the authorities has violated the fundamental rights of the petitioner, as enunciated in the Maneka Gandhi case by the Supreme Court.

The petitioner claimed that he has no role in the alleged scam involving his brother as he was not in India at that time. He claimed that in order to retain the Dutch Residence Permit he should not be staying outside the Netherlands for a period more than six months or in the alternative should not be staying outside the Netherlands for a period more than four months every year for a total period of three years in a row. The violation of the condition may even amount to cancellation or withdrawal of the resident permit, the petition said.

Watch latest videos by DH here: