BITOO KAVITA Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) There is a criminal case pending against three ladies and two others one of whom is the husband of the third petitioner and the other is the husband of Smt. Anil Prabha at whose instance criminal case had been launched for the offences under Ss. 406, 498-A, 506 of the Indian Penal Code, besides S. 4-A of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. The case is pending in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Faridkot, Punjab. The petitioners are residents of Dehradoon in U.P. The allegation is that on the registration of the case four petitioners including two ladies were arrested by the Police. They were hand-cuffed and paraded through the street and the news and had been flashed in the local newspapers and all of them were put up in the lock up during the entire night and they were produced before the Court only on the next day. We are not now at the question of the persecution allegedly inflicted on the petitioners. While dealing with this matter our concern is whether it is just and proper to transfer the case from the file of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Faridkot to Court in Delhi since another case is pending between Smt. Anil Prabha and her husband-the fifth petitioner. It is admitted that such a case is pending before the District Court, Delhi.

(2.) In the circumstances we deem it necessary to transfer the criminal case also to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Delhi. We, therefore, order case No. 72 of 1998 (titled State of Punjab vs. Neeraj Kumar and four others) pending in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Faridkot be transferred to the Court of Chief Judicial Metropolitan Magistrate, Delhi. We permit the said Magistrate to assign the case to any other Court within his domain.