SANJAY GOPE Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE sole petitioner Sanjay Gope by invoking the extra ordinary jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has questioned the legality of the order of respondent No. 2 -Superintendent of Mandal Kara, Gumla whereby he has shifted the petitioner from Mandal Kara, Gumla to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Kendriya Kara, Hazaribagh (in short "L.N.J.P. Kendriya Kara, Hazaribagh") without taking prior permission of the court concerned.

(2.) THE factual matrix of the case, in short, is that the petitioner was transferred from Mandal Kara, Gumla to L.N.J.P. Kendriya Kara, Hazaribagh, though he is an undertrial prisoner and involved in as many as 14 cases in the district of Gumla. The respondent No. 2 - the Superintendent of Mandal Kara, Gumla following the direction of the Inspector General of Prison, which was based on the reports of Superintendent of Police, Gumla and Deputy Commissioner of Gumla, issued the letter as contained in Annexure -1 of this writ petition and transferred the petitioner to L.N.J.P., Kendriya Kara, Hazaribagh but before that, respondent No. 2 did not take any permission from the court concerned, which would be clear from the fact that when information was given to the court, the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Gumla vide his order dated 31.08.2013 has called for an explanation from respondent No. 2. It appears from Annexure -1 that the petitioner has been transferred on administrative ground.

(3.) CONTRARY to the aforesaid submissions, learned counsel representing the State relying upon different paragraphs of the counter affidavit submitted that after the report of the Deputy Commissioner, Gumla dated 17.08.2013 enclosing the copy of letter of Superintendent of Police, Gumla, the Inspector General of Prisons, Jharkhand vide order dated 23.08.2013 directed the respondent No. 2 to transfer the petitioner from the District Jail, Gumla to L.N.J.P. Central Jail, Hazaribagh on administrative ground and the said transfer was made in the light of Section 770(B) of Jail Manual. It was also submitted that the petitioner will be produced through video conferencing from Hazaribagh Central Jail and in case the physical production of the petitioner will be required, the concerned Superintendent of Police will provide armed escort party to produce the petitioner in Courts of Gumla but fairly submitted that the mandates given in the above case State of Maharashtra & Ors. Vs. Saeed Sohail Sheikh (supra) appears to have not been followed.