Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Ajoy Kumar vs The State Of West Bengal & Anr on 6 April, 2022
Form No. J(2)
IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
CRIMINAL REVISIONAL JURISDICTION
Present:
The Hon'ble Justice Jay Sengupta
C.R.R. 1098 of 2022
Ajoy Kumar
-vs-
The State of West Bengal & anr.
For the Petitioner : Mr. Debasis Kar,
Mr. Husen Mustafi.
Heard on : 06.04.2022
Judgment on : 06.04.2022
Jay Sengupta, J.:
This is an application seeking transfer of a case being Criminal
Appeal No. 1 of 2019 presently pending before the learned
Additional Session Judge, 2nd Court, Barrackpore, North 24
Parganas to another Court within the same jurisdiction.
Learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submits
as follows. The petitioner was convicted under Section 3 of the RP
(UP) Act, 1966 by a judgment and order dated 26.12.2018 passed
by the learned Judicial Magistrate, Barrackpore, North 24 parganas
in Case No. C. 261 of 2007. Being aggrieved the petitioner preferred
an appeal before the learned Sessions Court. On 02.01.2019, the
appeal was admitted and was transferred for disposal. Thereafter,
on a few dates the matter was taken up for hearing. The case of the
petitioner is that the Presiding Officer of the learned Court was not
willing to hear all the submissions made on behalf of the appellant.
He was also disinteresting in perusing the judgments cited on behalf
of the appellant. That is why the petitioner was constrained to file
an application before the learned Court on 07.03.2022 praying for
transfer of the case the Court to another Court. However, learned
Appellate Court dismissed the said application although granting
liberty to the appellant to move this Court with a prayer for seeking
transfer.
I have heard the submissions of the learned Counsel for the
petitioner and have perused the revision petition
It is true that for seeking transfer of a case or an appeal from
one Court to another on the ground of bias, the petitioner need not
strictly prove the existence of a bias in the mind of the Presiding
Officer. However, he has to entertain a reasonable belief that he
would not get justice before that Court.
However, after perusal of the order sheet, it appears that the
appeal was heard in part on 16.11.2021 and the next date was fixed
for further hearing on 07.03.2022. On the very next date the
appellant/petitioner filed an application before the same Court
seeking transfer of the proceeding alleging bias. The
petitioner/appellant ought to know that the Court itself has no power
to transfer the case to another Court. Thus, it could only have been
an attempt to embarrass the learned Judge.
It often happens that a litigant entertains a believe that he
would not get a favourable order from a particular Court and
therefore, employees different means to get the matter out of that
Court. It may or may not be the case here. However, the application
filed for transfer before the same Court was a futile exercise and could
have been made only to intimidate the learned Judge.
The learned Judge dismissed the said petition, but granted
liberty to the petitioner/appellant to move an application seeking
transfer before this Court. Therefore, it is evident that he had no
special interest in getting the matter heard before him.
In view of the above, I do not find that the circumstances were
such that the petitioner could have entertained a reasonable belief
that he would not get justice before the learned trial Court.
Therefore, I do not find any merit in this application.
Accordingly, the prayer for transfer is rejected.
However, there shall be no order as to costs.
The learned Appellate Court is requested to hear the
submissions of the learned Counsel for the parties in the appeal and
accept written notes of submission, if filed by any of the parties, and
thereafter, conclude the proceeding as expeditiously as possible.
With these observations, the revisional application is disposed
of.
Urgent photostat certified copies of this judgment may be
delivered to the learned Advocates for the parties, if applied for, upon
compliance of all formalities.
(Jay Sengupta, J.)
d.g
