GAUTAM YADAV Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD counsel for the petitioner and the counsel for the State.

(2.) REFERENCE may be made to the order dt. 29.11.2007 whereby and whereunder this court called for a report from the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Banka as to why the petitioner was not remanded even when an order to that effect was passed on 3.6.2000 for his production. The court below was further directed to explain as to under what circumstances the petitioner despite being in jail custody was declared to be absconder and his trial was split up. Pursuant to the said order, Chief Judicial Magistrate (C.J.M.), Banka has submitted an exhaustive report dated 7.1.2008. A bare perusal of such report goes to show that on the requisition submitted by the Investigating Officer before the Court of C.J. M., Banka for remanding the petitioner in the present case. Letter No. 804 -05 dated 3.6.2000 was sent to the Superintendent, Central Jail, Bhagalpur for his production at Banka but he was not produced for more than seven years by the jail authorities and eventually he was produced only on 2.7.2007 after more than seven years. The report further reveals that even when it was well within the knowledge of the then C.J.M., Banka that the petitioner was in jail custody in Bhagalpur Central Jail, yet he had first issued a non -bailable warrant of arrest against the petitioner on 24.8.2000 and eventually declared the petitioner absconder by an order dated 25.3.2004. The explanation of the present C.J.M., Banka that his predecessor in office had inadvertently declared the petitioner absconder to say the least is only an effort to cover up the obvious negligence and dereliction in performance of duty of all the successive Chief Judicial Magistrate posted at Banka in between 2.6.2000 to 2.7.2007. The petitioner in fact was already in jail in connection with one another criminal case Kanti Devi Versus Bank Of Baroda Shahkhund P.S. Case No. 10 of 1999 and yet he was being treated as a fugitive criminal by the successive C.J.Ms. posted at Banka and as such all of them are required to be subjected to a disciplinary proceeding. In that view of the matter, the Registrar General is directed to place the matter before the Standing Committee for an appropriate action against all the C.J. Ms. posted at Banka in between 3.6.2000 to 2.7.2007, specially the C.J.M., Banka who had directed for issuance of non - bailable warrant of arrest on 24.8.2000 and the C.J.M., Banka who by his order dated 25.3.2004 had declared him absconder.

(3.) AT the same time all the Superintendent of Central Jail, Bhagalpur who were in Office in between 3.6.2000 to 2.7.2007 being responsible in not producing the petitioner in the Court at Banka also need to be dealt with a firm hand. It has been mentioned in the report of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Banka that even when an order for production of the petitioner was sent to the Superintendent of Bhagalpur Central Jail with a direction to produce him on 3.6.2000 it took more than seven years for the Superintendent of Bhagalpur Central Jail to comply the said order and the petitioner in fact was produced on 2.7.2007. Thus, the Inspector General of Prison, Government of Bihar is directed to hold a full -fledged enquiry within a period of two months from the receipt of a copy of this order and he is further directed to take appropriate disciplinary action for a major punishment against the erring Superintendent(s) of Central Jail, Bhagalpur. An action taken report in this regard must be submitted by the Inspector General of Prison to this Court within a period of four months.