A local court in India has stated that the offense allegedly committed by Huawei Telecommunications (India) chief executive Li Xiongwei is a bailable one.
In the bail plea hearing, Li Xiongwei asked the court to dismiss the look-out-circular instituted by the income tax department, preventing him from traveling outside the country. The court agreed with his plea, especially since he had met the bail conditions. Part of his bail conditions was that he provided two sureties who would guarantee his return. In the ruling, the court clarified that both sureties must be Indian citizens.
Defending its position, the court stated that since Li is a foreign national, in any event, if he leaves the country and refuses to return, his personal bond with the court may become worthless. To prevent such from happening, the court has instructed Li to place on record “an interest-bearing FDR of Rs. 5 Lakh.”
Hence, if Li’s personal bond is voided, the court would rely on the fixed deposit receipt (FDR). Upon meeting those conditions, the court has now accepted the personal bond of Rs. 5 lakh provided by Li.
Matter on ground
It should be recalled that Li, the chief executive of Huawei Technologies, India, a Chinese national, was prevented from leaving India on May 1 to attend a meeting on behalf of his parent company. Due to the LOC put in place by the income tax department, Li wasn’t allowed to board. This caused him to petition the local court against the LOC.
While the income tax department stated that its reason for instituting the LOC against Li was because the institution is still carrying out further investigations, which requires Li to be available, the court has added that the alleged offense is bailable. So there is no reason he shouldn’t be allowed to travel, especially after meeting the courts’ bail conditions and taking out a personal bond of Rs. 5 lakh.
