HARMEET SINGH Vs. NAVDEEP KAUR AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PRAYER in this petition filed by Harmeet Singh, Informant/complainant, under Section 407 read with Section 482, Cr.P.C., is for transfer of the case titled 'State vs Arvinder Singh Rana and others', arising out of FIR No. 1, dated 03.01.2014, for the offence punishable under Section 306, IPC, registered at Police Station, Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana, pending trial in the Court of Shri S.P. Sood, Additional Sessions Judge, Ludhiana, to any other Court of competent jurisdiction at Mohali or any other district.

(2.) LEARNED senior counsel, Mr. Rupinder Khosla, submits that respondent No. 1 -Navdeep Kaur is wife of the petitioner while respondent Nos. 4 and 5 are his parents -in -law. The petitioner and his wife Navdeep Kaur could not pull on well on account of their temperamental differences. After five months of their marriage, respondent No. 1 -Navdeep Kaur, left the house of the petitioner and started residing with her parents, i.e. respondent Nos. 4 and 5. Two petitions, i.e. one under Section 125, Cr.P.C., for grant of maintenance and another under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, were presented by respondent No. 1 -Navdeep Kaur. Respondent No. 4 -Arvinder Singh Rana, father of Navdeep Kaur, is a practising Advocate at Ludhiana. During her stay with petitioner, Navdeep Kaur was always threatening him (petitioner) and his family members that they would be implicated in false cases since her father was an Advocate at Ludhiana. Due to the abetment and harassment at the behest of Navdeep Kaur, Arvinder Singh Rana and Savjit Kaur, father of the petitioner was forced to commit suicide by jumping into a canal. Before his death, Sukhminder Singh (since deceased) had left behind a suicide note. After thorough investigation, the charge -sheet (report under Section 173 Cr.P.C.) for the offence punishable under Section 306, IPC for the prosecution of Arvinder Singh Rana, Savjit Kaur and Navdeep Kaur, was presented. The case was committed to the Court of Session, which was assigned for trial to Shri S.P. Sood, learned Additional Sessions Judge, Ludhiana.

(3.) HE further submitted that without the assistance of a lawyer the petitioner would not be in a position to properly put up his version before the learned trial Court. In view of the said circumstances, the learned senior counsel submitted that the case be transferred from the Board of Shri S.P. Sood, Additional Sessions Judge, Ludhiana, to the Court of competent jurisdiction at Mohali or any other Sessions Divisions. In support of his case, the learned senior counsel had placed reliance on Pankaj Khapra and others vs State of Rajasthan and another : 2003(3) RajCrlC 1342.