The Crossbill News Desk
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday (March 17) pulled up the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) for declining to act on an exit permit application filed by a US national facing criminal charges in Maharashtra, observing that such refusal could not be justified solely on the basis of objections from the investigating agency.
An exit permit is an official permission granted to a foreign national to leave India in the absence of a valid visa or entry into the country.
Despite the sessions court having granted permission for him to travel to attend to his ailing mother, the FRRO refused to process the exit permit, the high court observed. The bench said the FRRO could not have refused to process the exit permit based on the objection raised by the investigating agency, citing “grave charges” against him.
A single-judge bench of Justice N J Jamadar allowed the application filed by one James Leonard Watson, who is on bail, and directed the FRRO to process his plea for an exit permit within two days and pass an appropriate order with “due regard” to the February 27, 2026, decision of the sessions court that had allowed his plea to travel abroad.
Watson was booked last year by the Bhiwandi Taluka police in Thane district for offences punishable under sections 299 (Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) and 302 (Uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings of any person) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), among others.
He was also booked under the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act (commonly known as Black Magic Act) and the Foreigners Act.
On October 29, 2025, the sessions court had granted bail to Watson with the condition that he should seek the court’s prior permission to travel abroad. The condition was applicable till completion of the period of his visa or till conclusion of the criminal case against him, whichever was earlier.
Watson then approached the sessions court for permission to travel to the US, purportedly to attend to his mother, who was suffering from cancer. The court on February 27 allowed his plea to travel to the US between March 9 and April 18.
Thereafter, he approached the FRRO, which, on March 10, informed him that the exit permit was not being processed further as the police had raised objections, which prompted him to move the high court.
An exit permit is an official permission granted to a foreign national to leave India in the absence of a valid visa or entry into the country.
Despite the sessions court having granted permission for him to travel to attend to his ailing mother, the FRRO refused to process the exit permit, the high court observed. The bench said the FRRO could not have refused to process the exit permit based on the objection raised by the investigating agency, citing “grave charges” against him.
A single-judge bench of Justice N J Jamadar allowed the application filed by one James Leonard Watson, who is on bail, and directed the FRRO to process his plea for an exit permit within two days and pass an appropriate order with “due regard” to the February 27, 2026, decision of the sessions court that had allowed his plea to travel abroad.
Watson was booked last year by the Bhiwandi Taluka police in Thane district for offences punishable under sections 299 (Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) and 302 (Uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings of any person) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), among others.
He was also booked under the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act (commonly known as Black Magic Act) and the Foreigners Act.
On October 29, 2025, the sessions court had granted bail to Watson with the condition that he should seek the court’s prior permission to travel abroad. The condition was applicable till completion of the period of his visa or till conclusion of the criminal case against him, whichever was earlier.
Watson then approached the sessions court for permission to travel to the US, purportedly to attend to his mother, who was suffering from cancer. The court on February 27 allowed his plea to travel to the US between March 9 and April 18.
Thereafter, he approached the FRRO, which, on March 10, informed him that the exit permit was not being processed further as the police had raised objections, which prompted him to move the high court.
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