NILIMA MURGESH ACHARI Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner's son namely Shubham Achari was arrested by the jurisdictional police in connection with crime No. 11/2018 for offences punishable under Sections 307, 397 and 459 of the Indian Penal Code on 07-01-2018. He was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bilaspur for grant of remand on 09-01-2018 and the said Magistrate, on due application of mind, granted remand and sent accused Shubham Achari into judicial custody till 19-01-2018. Thereafter, further judicial remand was granted by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate on 19-01-2018, 16-02-2018, 01- 03-2018, 15-03-2018, 28-03-2018 and finally on 06-04-2018, in the absence of accused Shubham Achari, he was charge-sheeted on 06-04-2018 and case was also committed to the court of Session on 20-04-2018. After full dressed trial, he was ultimately acquitted by the court of Session, Bilaspur for the charged offences on 04- 04-2019.

(2.) This writ petition has been preferred by his mother during his custody on 01-11-2018 mainly complaining that except on 09-01- 2018 he was never produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate who remanded him on judicial custody time to time from 19-01- 2018 to 28-03-2018 and even no video conferencing was made available to her son/accused Shubham Achari before extending period of judicial remand by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate which is clearly in flagrant violation of the provisions contained in nd proviso to sub-section (2) of Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, therefore, her son Shubham Achari who has ultimately been acquitted by the jurisdictional court of Session is entitled for compensation for his illegal custody from 19-01-2018 to 28-03-2018 and as such, accused Shubham Achari is entitled for reasonable compensation for his unauthorized and illegal detention for the aforesaid period.

(3.) The respondents/State has filed its return stating inter alia that the accused was produced before the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate on 09-01-2018 thereafter, on various subsequent dates further remand was sought by the police authorities and that was duly granted by learned Chief Judicial Magistrate in absence of accused Shubham Achari due to shortage of police force in the further dates of hearing and as such no exception can be taken to the fact of not producing accused Shubham Achari physically before the Jurisdictional Criminal Court on the further dates of extending period of judicial remand due to shortage of police force, therefore, this writ petition deserves to be dismissed.