Astha Kanodia vs State Of West Bengal And Anr
2022 Latest Caselaw 6635 Cal

Form J(1)        IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
                    Criminal Revisional Jurisdiction
                              Appellate Side


Present :
The Hon'ble Justice Bibek Chaudhuri


                       CRR 3496 of 2022



                          Astha Kanodia
                               Vs.
                   State of West Bengal and Anr.


Mr. Subhrojyoti Bhowmick
                 ...for the petitioner


Item No.213


Heard & Judgment on:          15.09.2022


Bibek Chaudhuri, J.

The petitioner is a destitute wife of the private opposite party.

For her maintenance she filed two proceedings - one under Section

125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and another under Section 12

read with other cognate provisions of the Protection of Women from

Domestic Violence Act alleging, inter alia, that the Bench clerk

attached to the 1st Court of the learned Judicial Magistrate at Sealdah

in collusion with the private opposite party or his learned advocate

had been fixing the dates in the said proceedings after a long gap and

thereby the petitioner is not getting even any interim relief in the said

proceedings for the last three years.

By an order dated 25th August, 2022 the learned Judicial

Magistrate, 1st Court at Sealdah released the case No.M/23 of 2021

from his file after receiving such allegation against the Bench clerk of

the said Court and sent a letter to the Additional Chief Judicial

Magistrate, Sealdah requesting him to transfer the record of M/23 of

2021 from his Court to any other Court having jurisdiction.

The learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sealdah did not

take any action over such letter on the ground that only the Chief

Judicial Magistrate at Alipore has the power under Section 410 of the

Code of Criminal Procedure to transfer a case pending in the file of a

Judicial Magistrate to another Court.

The petitioner has approached this Court assailing the order

dated 25th August, 2022 passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate, 1 st

Court at Sealdah.

On perusal of the order it is ascertained that the learned Judicial

Magistrate, 1st Court at Sealdah was of the opinion that for ends of

justice it would not be proper to take up her M/23 of 2021 filed by the

petitioner as the petitioner has made a specific allegation against the

Bench clerk attached to the said Court.

On perusal of the order dated 25th August, 2022 I do not find

any apparent error in the said order. The learned Judicial Magistrate,

1st Court at Sealdah recused himself from entertaining the aforesaid

case because if any other order was passed against the petitioner it

would have been a telling effect in the mind of the petitioner that she

has been prejudiced.

Therefore, I do not find any merit in the instant revision and the

same is liable to be dismissed.

Proper course of action in the instant matter is by filing an

application under Section 410 of the Code of Criminal Procedure by

the petitioner before the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate at Alipore

praying for transfer of the said case.

In order to enable the petitioner to take such step as proposed

hereinabove the petitioner is permitted to withdraw the certified copy

of the impugned order replacing the same with a photostat copy of

the order.

If any such application is filed by the petitioner before the

learned Chief Judicial Magistrate at Alipore, the learned Chief Judicial

Magistrate shall take all endeavour to dispose of the said application

before coming winter vacation.

The instant revision is, thus, disposed of.

(Bibek Chaudhuri, J.)