JEETU BOHRA Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner has filed this Criminal Misc. Petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. against the order dated 22.12.2013 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Beawar (District Ajmer) in Sessions Case No.4/2012 whereby the application dated 24.2.2013 filed by the petitioner has been dismissed. By way of the aforesaid application a prayer was made on behalf of the petitioner to transfer the aforesaid case to the extent of offences under Sections 489 -B and 489 -C IPC from the aforesaid Court to the Court of Special Judge (Fake Currency Notes Cases), Jaipur. The learned trial Court dismissed the application mainly recording the reason that as per sub -section (2) of Section 36 -A of NDPS Act, the trial Court, which has been empowered to try the offences punishable under the provisions of NDPS Act, is entitled to try not only the offences punishable under the said Act, but any other offence also which has been committed by the accused in the same course of transaction alongwith the offences punishable under the NDPS Act.

(2.) BRIEF relevant facts for the disposal of the present petition are that on 18.5.2012, Narcotic Drug (Charas) weighing 4 kg. 50 gms and fake currency notes of Rs.5,000/ - were allegedly recovered from the possession of the accused -petitioner and after investigation charge -sheet was filed against him for the offence under Section 8/21 of the NDPS Act and Sections 489 -B and 489 -C IPC and after framing of charges trial commenced and statements of as many as five prosecution witnesses were also recorded by the trial Court. At this stage of the proceedings, the aforesaid application came to be filed on behalf of the petitioner and the same stood dismissed vide impugned order dated 22.12.2013.

(3.) IT was submitted on behalf of the petitioner that it is an admitted fact that vide notification dated 5.11.1996, the State of Rajasthan has constituted a special Court under Section 9 Cr.P.C. for the trial of cases relating to fake currency notes for the whole State of Rajasthan which is situated at Jaipur and in view of the same in the present case as the petitioner is facing trial for the offences punishable under Sections 489 -B and 489 -C IPC also, the petitioner can be tried for these offeces by the aforesaid Special Court only, although, the trial Court, which has been empowered to try the offences under the provisions of NDPS Act, has jurisdiction under sub -section (2) of Section 36 -A of NDPS Act to try other offences alongwith the offences punishable under the NDPS Act. It was further contended that the trial Court may have jurisdiction to try other offences punishable under IPC alongwith the offences punishable under the provisions of the NDPS Act, but so far as the offences under Sections 489 -B and 489 -C IPC are concerned, as the State of Rajasthan has constituted a Special Court for the trial of these offences for the whole of the Rajasthan, the trial Court has no jurisdiction to try these offences and to that extent the trial has to be transferred to the Special Court situated at Jaipur, but the learned trial Court without considering the matter in a correct prospective, has dismissed the application filed by the petitioner. It was prayed that the trial pending against the petitioner to the extent of offences punishable under Sections 489 -B and 489 -C IPC is required to be separated and transferred to the Special Court. It was also submitted that when a Special Court has been constituted by the State of Rajasthan exercising its power under Section 9 Cr.P.C. conferring exclusively jurisdiction to try offences relating to fake currency notes, no other Court has jurisdiction to deal with the same.