SUMER MAL Vs. RIDHKARAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE are three connected transfer applications by the accused petitioner Sumermal in three connected cases which are pending in the court of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Churu. The petitioner is an editor of a fortnightly paper called "sumati" which is published from Churu. He is a common accused in all the three cases which have been instituted under sec. 500 I. P. C. against him and against certain other persons by three different complainants arising out of a single news item appearing in the issue of "sumati" dated the 15th May, 1958. Suffice it to state for the purposes of the present applications that the petitioner filed applications for transfer of these cases from the court of the learned Sub-Divisional Magistrate before the District Magistrate Churu, and the Sessions Judge, Bikaner on a number of grounds but he was unsuccessful. Hence the present applications.

(2.) A number of grounds have also been taken in this Court in support of the applications for transfer but I consider it unnecessary to mention any of them except one. That ground is that while these cases were being taken up before the Sub-Divisional Magistrate on the 19th January, 1959, the petitioner moved three different applications in the three cases to the effect that he proposed to make an application to the High Court for the transfer of these cases from the file of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate and the petitioner consequently prayed for a suitable adjournment to enable him to do so. The learned Magistrate passed certain orders on these applications to which I propose to refer presently in greater detail, and the contention of learned counsel for the petitioner is that the manner in which the learned Magistrate disposed of these applications for stay of proceedings was enough to raise a reasonable apprehension in the mind of the petitioner that he would not have a fair deal at the hands of this Magistrate.