HC clears path for UK doctor to rejoin family, patients in England
3 min readMumbaiUpdated: May 6, 2026 04:19 AM IST
Nearly four months after he was detained for allegedly posting objectionable content against a BJP leader, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Maharashtra government to modify the Look Out Circular (LOC) against UK-based doctor and YouTuber Sangram Patil (49) in the case, so that he can fly back to England by or after May 11. A single-judge bench of Justice Ashwin D Bhobe took on record undertakings filed by Patil and his parents, assuring his appearance as and when required during the probe and his cooperation with the investigation agency.He was booked for allegedly posting objectionable content against a BJP leader and was detained on January 10 upon his arrival at the Mumbai airport. On April 15, Advocate General (AG) Milind Sathe for the state government had said that it had no objection to lifting the LOC against Patil if the investigation reports pertaining to the case against him were not made available within three weeks. The HC had then admitted Patil’s plea challenging the FIR and LOC. He had denied the allegations of posting the objectionable content. Patil’s lawyers had claimed he was virtually “in an open-air jail” and his detention “resulted in there being a possibility of him being removed from his job” in the UK and he has a family including wife and a child in the UK and patients to look after. Justice Bhobe had then told the government that it cannot hold a person for a longer time and sought completion of the investigation at the earliest. On Tuesday, senior advocate Rajiv Shakdher and advocates Ujjwalkumar Chavhan and Aditya Hire for Patil told the bench that he had filed an undertaking stating that he will “not evade or avoid the process of law and shall participate in the investigation proceedings in good faith and as required.”Story continues below this ad Patil, a UK citizen employed in the National Health Service (NHS) UK as a consultant doctor, had added that “travelling back to India requires reasonable prior intimation to enable compliance without compromising his professional duties and obligations.” However, he said that 15-day notice was “sufficient for him to travel back to India again to join the probe.” The court accepted Patil’s statement on undertaking, after AG Sathe said that the authority was satisfied with it and will modify the LOC to enable his UK travel, as the probe is still on. “By virtue of this, he would be able to travel outside India and instructions will be issued to competent authorities on or before May 11,” Sathe stated. The court then ordered modification of LOC and is likely to hear Patil’s main plea next in June 2026.
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