Punjab-Haryana High Court

Sumit Kumar Bindal vs Wadkesankaran Balakrishnan And ... on 7 May, 2024

Author: Jasjit Singh Bedi

Bench: Jasjit Singh Bedi

                                 Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:062730




                                                           2024:PHHC:062730

CRM-M-26380-2023 (O & M)                                                 ::1::

           IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT
                        CHANDIGARH

                                          CRM-M-26380-2023 (O & M)
                                         Date of Decision:07.05.2024

Sumit Kumar Bindal
                                                                 ... Petitioner

                                     Versus
Wadkesankaran Balakrishnan and anr.                           ...Respondent(s)


CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JASJIT SINGH BEDI
Present:     Mr. Shreenath A. Khemka, Advocate,
             for the petitioner(s).

             Mr. Parminder Singh, Advocate,
             for applicant-respondent No.1.

             Mr. Kanwar Sanjiv Kumar, AAG, Haryana,
             for respondent No.2-State.

             ****

JASJIT SINGH BEDI, J.

The prayer in the present petition under Section 407 read

with Section 482 Cr.P.C. is for transfer of the Trial in FIR No.228 of

2015, under Sections 406, 418, 420, 466, 468, 471, 473 and 506 IPC,

Police Station Taraori titled as 'State of Haryana versus Badke

Bhankaran Bala Krishnan' pending before Shri Alok Anand, JMIC,

Karnal to some other Court of competent jurisdiction at Karnal or

elsewhere.

2. The brief facts of the case as emanating from the pleadings

are that during the course of the Trial in the aforementioned FIR, the Trial

Court permitted the exhibiting of an agreement dated 07.01.2014 as

1 of 6

Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:062730

2024:PHHC:062730

CRM-M-26380-2023 (O & M) ::2::

Ex.DA on 06.03.2023. The copy of the said document is attached as

Annexure P-3 to the petition.

3. In order to controvert the aforementioned document, the

complainant-petitioner moved two applications, one for sending the

document for forensic analysis and the other under Section 311 Cr.P.C. to

produce the Criminal Ahlmad, Record Room (Sessions Court), Karnal to

produce the complete record of a case file bearing No.BA/123/2015 titled

as 'V.S. Balakrishnan Sankaran versus State of Haryana' decided by the

Court of the then Additional Sessions Judge, Karnal. The said

applications had been moved in the context of exhibiting of the

documents Ex. DA. The copies of the applications dated 22.03.2023 are

attached as Annexures P-6 and P-7 to the petition.

4. The Court came to the conclusion that as the applications

had been moved at the stage of pronouncement of the final judgment and

therefore, there was a question of the very maintainability of the

applications. The case was adjourned to 27.03.2023 for further

proceedings. A copy of the order dated 23.03.2023 is attached as

Annexure P-9 to the petition.

5. Meanwhile, a transfer application was moved on 21.04.2023

before the Sessions Judge, Karnal. Though, the application came to be

dismissed vide order dated 15.05.2023 but as per the pleadings, the same

was not uploaded on to the website. The copy of the TA dated

21.04.2023 is attached as Annexure P-10 to the petition.

2 of 6

Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:062730

2024:PHHC:062730

CRM-M-26380-2023 (O & M) ::3::

6. The case was listed for hearing on 15.05.2023 as is evident

from the cause list which is attached as Annexure P-11 and was

adjourned to 19.05.2023. However, the matter was taken up on

17.05.2023 without it being reflected in the cause list of the said date.

The copy of the list dated 17.05.2023 is attached as Annexure P-12 to the

petition.

7. On 17.05.2023, the case was listed for arguments on the

applications but adjourned to 18.05.2023. The copy of the order dated

17.05.2023 is attached as Annexure R-1/6.

8. On 18.05.2023, the case was adjourned to 19.05.2023 and

thereafter, to 22.05.2023.

9. On 22.05.2023, both the applications which had earlier been

questioned on the grounds of maintainability as the Trial was at its fag

end came to be dismissed on merits vide order dated 22.05.2023. The

copy of the said order is attached as Annexure R-1/9.

10. Meanwhile, the instant petition was filed seeking transfer of

the case/Trial in FIR No.228 of 2015, under Sections 406, 418, 420, 466,

468, 471, 473 and 506 IPC, Police Station Taraori titled as 'State of

Haryana versus Badke Bhankaran Bala Krishnan' without impugning the

order passed on the transfer application dated 21.04.2023 (Annexure P-

10).

11. On 25.05.2023, this Court passed the following order:-

"Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that his transfer application was dismissed by the Court of the Sessions Judge, Karnal on 15.05.2023 but the order has still

3 of 6

Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:062730

2024:PHHC:062730

CRM-M-26380-2023 (O & M) ::4::

not been uploaded. He further submits that the trial Court is adopting a procedure unknown to law.

Notice of motion for 09.08.2023. Till the next date of hearing, final order shall not be passed."

12. Pursuant to the above order, proceedings are stayed before

the Trial Court.

13. The learned counsel for the petitioner while placing on

record the order dated 15.05.2023 passed by the District Judge, Karnal in

TA No.30 of 2023 contends that the manner in which the Trial Court has

proceeded in the present case creates a doubt in the mind of the

petitioner/complainant as to the fairness of the Trial. The document

Ex.DA was wrongly exhibited at the fag end of the Trial without it ever

being brought to light at any earlier stage pursuant to the registration of

the FIR. Because the said document had been exhibited, the two

applications had been moved to counter the said document. By no stretch

of imagination could it have been said that the complainant had moved

the said applications to delay the proceedings. In fact, it was the Trial

Court which showed undue haste in proceeding with the case on a

day-to-day basis. Interestingly, while dealing with the applications dated

22.03.2023, firstly, the Trial Court had questioned the very

maintainability of the said application on the grounds that it had been

moved at the fag end of the Trial and later had dismissed the same on

merits. Further, as per the cause list for 15.05.2023, the case was

adjourned to 19.05.2023 but for certain inexplicable reason, the case was

taken on 17.05.2023 without it being shown in the cause list for the said

4 of 6

Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:062730

2024:PHHC:062730

CRM-M-26380-2023 (O & M) ::5::

date. All these factors collectively created a doubt in the mind of the

petitioner/complainant and therefore, the Trial ought to have been

transferred to another Court of competent jurisdiction. Reliance is placed

on the judgment in 'Satish Jaggi versus State of Chhattisgarh and

others 2007(2) RCR (Criminal) 116'.

14. The learned counsel for the accused/respondent No.1 and the

learned counsel for the State-respondent No.2, on the other hand, contend

that as the case was an action plan case, it was required to be decided

expeditiously. The various zimni orders annexed as Annexures R-1/1 to

R-1/9 would show that it was the complainant who was delaying the

proceedings on one pretext or the other. Therefore, no ground for the

transfer of the case was made out when the Trial was virtually over.

15. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties.

16. Though, the learned counsel for the petitioner has referred to

various aspects of the conduct of the Court, I do not wish to delve in

detail into the submissions made and the allegations raised. However, in

the context of judicial proceedings, justice must not only be done but it

must also be seen to have been done as has been set out in the judgment

of Satish Jaggi (supra).

17. Therefore, in order to allay the apprehension of the

complainant-petitioner but without casting any aspersions whatsoever on

the Trial Court, I deem it appropriate to transfer the Trial/proceedings

emanating out of FIR No.228 of 2015, under Sections 406, 418, 420, 466,

468, 471, 473 and 506 IPC, Police Station Taraori titled as 'State of

5 of 6

Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:062730

2024:PHHC:062730

CRM-M-26380-2023 (O & M) ::6::

Haryana versus Badke Bhankaran Bala Krishnan' pending before Shri

Alok Anand, JMIC, Karnal to the Court of competent jurisdiction in the

Sessions Division, Sonipat forthwith.