CBI's U-turn on Vijay Mallya lookout circular may have helped him leave India

Did a change in CBI's lookout circular against Vijay Mallya help the liquor baron leave the country on March 2?

CNN-IBN has exclusively accessed information which showed that the original lookout notice by the Central Bureau of Investigation wanted immigration authorities to detain the multi-million loan defaulter if he tried to leave the country.

That notice was issued last October. Then in a stunning U-turn a month later on November 23, the notice was modified to say that his detention was not required.

The original lookout notice was issued on October 12, 2015 vide DPBSM/2015/724/RCNSM 2015 E 0006. The amended one was issued on November 23, 2015, vide letter number 1049/RCBSM/2015/E0006.

Mallya, according to sources, left for London by the 9W122 Delhi-London Jet Airways flight at 12.54 pm on March 2, days before a consortium of banks approached the Supreme Court for his passport to be impounded.

Opposition Congress has been accusing the government of being party to the "criminal conspiracy" that helped Mallya escape and demanded action against the banks who sanctioned loans when he faced crippling debt.

Mallya is facing legal proceedings for alleged loan defaults by his group to the tune of over Rs 9000 crore.

A PTI report quoted unnamed CBI sources as saying that the agency did not try to stop his movement abroad as Mallya had been cooperating in the investigation by presenting himself for questioning as and when required and also providing required documents.

The sources also pointed out, that according to a Supreme Court, judgement passport of a person can only be impounded when he has been charge sheeted or a trial is pending against him.