Ravi Parthasarathy, former chairman of IL&FS, has applied to the government to allow him to travel for continued treatment at a London hospital for throat cancer.
According to sources, Parthasarathy had returned to India on October 22 as he was wanted for questioning by the Serious Fraud Investigations Office (SFIO). He needs to apply for overseas travel as the government has issued a lookout notice against him at all airports across the country in connection with the mismanagement at IL&FS which has resulted in an unprecedented liquidity crisis at the company, resulting in multiple defaults on loans and interest repayments to creditors.
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In its petition filed with the National Company Law Tribunal in Mumbai on October 1, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs said Parthasarathy, along with three other directors, were likely to flee the country overnight, based on which the notices were issued.
The other three directors are Hari Sankaran, former IL&FS VC & MD; Ramesh Bawa, former MD, IL&FS Financial Services; and K Ramchand, former MD & CEO, IL&FS Transportation Networks. The counsel for the MCA, in his petition, said by being either members of the board of directors, promoters, auditors, etc, the directors are privy to inner workings of their respective businesses, and cannot evade responsibility for the activities, misfeasance, persistent negligence and continuous defaults in carrying out their duties.