SUNIL KUMAR Vs. STATE OF UT OF CHANDIGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition has been filed under Sec. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, "Cr. P. C.") by one of the accused persons in FIR No.194/2017, registered under Ss. 409/420/120B IPC and Ss. 8/9/13(1)(d)/13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, at Police Station Sector 3, Chandigarh.

(2.) The case relates to the leaking of the question paper set for "Haryana Civil Services (Judicial) (Preliminary) Examination-2017". The FIR has been registered on the directions of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana. The Special Investigating Team (for short, "SIT") was also constituted for investigating into the case. The accused persons were arrested, and vide orders dtd. 12/10/2018, the High Court of Punjab and Haryana granted interim bail to the accused, including the present petitioner. By means of various petitions, some of the accused approached the Supreme Court seeking transfer of the matters from Chandigarh to Delhi. These petitions were allowed vide orders dtd. 5/2/2021 and the cases were transferred to Delhi, where the trial is presently pending.

(3.) After the cases were transferred to Delhi, the petitioner sought directions from the learned Special Judge to the police not to compel the petitioner to give his voice sample. Vide order dtd. 2/7/2022, the Principal District and Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge (PC Act) (CBI), Rouse Avenue District Court, New Delhi (hereinafter referred to as the "Special Judge") declined to issue any such directions observing that assuming that the High Court of Punjab and Haryana had granted liberty to the petitioner to file a fresh petition before the High Court of Delhi, the petitioner had not done so till that date, and in any case, the time granted by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana also stood expired and thus, directed the petitioner, being accused No.5, to give his voice sample in terms of the previous order dtd. 26/9/2018, also fixing the date for the purpose as 11/7/2022 at CFSL, Sector-36, Chandigarh.