16-ia-1861-2026.doc IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION INTERIM APPLICATION NO. 1861 OF 2026 IN WRIT PETITION (ST) NO. 1823 OF 2026 Dr. Prateek Kanakia ...Applicant Versus The Directorate of Enforcement & Anr. ...Respondents Mr. Adithya R. Iyer a/w Mr. Advait Helekar, Mr. Vijit Shinde and Mr. Veertaj Patil for the Applicant. Ms. Supriya Kak, A.P.P for the Respondent-State. Dr. Nilesh V. B. Pawaskar (through VC) a/w Ms. Aparna D. Vhatkar for the Respondent No.1 – E.D. CORAM : SARANG V. KOTWAL & ASHISH S. CHAVAN, JJ. DATE : 2 nd JULY, 2026 P.C. : 1. This is an interim application in Writ Petition (ST) No. 1823 of 2026. The Division Bench headed by the Hon’ble the Then Wakodikar 1/6 16-ia-1861-2026.doc Chief Justice vide order dated 24th February, 2026, directed release of the Applicant/Petitioner forthwith in connection with ECIR bearing No.MBZO-II/14/2024 dated 25th October, 2024 registered by the Respondent No.1. The main operative part of the said order are in paragraph Nos.8 and 9 as follows : “8. Consequently, we hereby hold that the arrest of the petitioner on 5th January, 2026 was illegal. The impugned remand orders dated 6th January, 2026 and 9th January, 2026 are set aside. The petitioner shall be released forthwith on production of a certified copy of this order and on his filing an affidavit in the Court concerned that he shall not tamper or attempt to tamper evidence, shall not influence or attempt to influence the witnesses and shall remain present within the jurisdiction of this Court at all times and shall not leave the country without prior permission of this Court. 9. The petitioner shall deposit his passport with the concerned Court.” 2. The present application is filed for modification of paragraph No.8 and in particular, the Applicant wants relaxation of the condition directing him to remain present within the jurisdiction of this Court at all time. Wakodikar 2/6 16-ia-1861-2026.doc 3. At the outset, learned Counsel for the Applicant submitted that he wants relaxation of only that condition. He does not want relaxation of condition whereby he was directed not to leave the country without prior permission of this Court. He submitted that the petitioner does not have a passport and he has no intention to travel abroad. Therefore, he is not seeking relaxation of that condition. However, he wants relaxation of the condition which directs him to remain present within the jurisdiction of this Court. Learned Counsel for the Applicant submitted and it is also mentioned in the application that he is engaged in business activities which necessitates travel to various parts of India. He also visits various places for pilgrimages in India. He is shown as an accused in the case arising out of Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 before the Judicial Magistrate, First Class at Patiala House, New Delhi, in C.C.NI Act 29212 of 2024. He is required to attend that Court in Delhi. For all these reasons, he requires relaxation of Wakodikar 3/6 16-ia-1861-2026.doc the condition not to leave the jurisdiction of this Court. 4. Learned Counsel Dr.Nilesh Pawaskar appearing for the Respondent No.1 relied on the affidavit-in-reply filed by them. The same is taken on record. The reply mentions various aspects on merits of the matter. However, the scope of the application is quite limited. The Division Bench in the order dated 24th February, 2026 had given clear directions to release the Applicant forthwith in connection with the subject matter. Therefore, we are only considering whether we should relax the aforesaid condition. 5. We find force in the submission of the learned Counsel for the Applicant that he is required to leave the jurisdiction of the Court particularly for attending the Court case in Delhi. The learned Counsel for the Respondent No.1 expressed apprehension that if he leaves the jurisdiction of this Court, then he may tamper with the evidence and in particular may dispose of the property, which is the Wakodikar 4/6 16-ia-1861-2026.doc subject matter of the investigation. 6. We have considered both these submissions. As far as apprehension expressed by the Respondent No.1 is concerned, it can be taken care of by imposing suitable conditions so that the Applicant furnishes all the necessary contact details and the purpose of travel outside of this Court’s jurisdiction to the Investigating Officer. In that view of matter, we are inclined to modify that condition on further directions as follows : : ORDER : The order dated 24th February, 2026 is modified to a limited extent and the condition imposed on the Applicant to remain present within the jurisdiction of this Court at all times is modified as follows :- (i) The Applicant is permitted to leave the jurisdiction of this Court provided that before he leaves the jurisdiction of this Court, he shall give the information of his proposed visit with necessary contact details and the Wakodikar 5/6 16-ia-1861-2026.doc purpose of visit, to the Investigating Officer atleast a week before he is leaving the jurisdiction of this Court. (ii) The Applicant shall co-operate with the investigation in future. 7. With these observations, the interim application is disposed of. (ASHISH S. CHAVAN, J.) (SARANG V. KOTWAL, J.) Wakodikar 6/6