REESHMA RAMESAN Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard the parties.

(2.) This criminal miscellaneous petition has been filed invoking the jurisdiction of this Court under Sec. 528 of BNSS, 2023 with a prayer for quashing and setting aside the order dtd. 14/5/2025 passed in S.T. case no. 147 of 1989, passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge 'II, Palamau at Daltonganj whereby learned Additional Sessions Judge 'II, Palamau at Daltonganj has observed that the attempts made by the petitioner is nothing but measure to hoodwink the said court and also observed that the petitioner has manipulated the letter dtd. 2/2/2025 by endorsing the seal of the P.S. Cyber Commissionerate without any date endorsed thereon along with the purported signatures of its receipt by the said Commissionerate. In this case, further prayer has also been made to quash the order dtd. 16/6/2025 passed in the said case, by learned Additional Sessions Judge 'II, Palamau at Daltonganj whereby and whereunder, learned court below has passed a direction to stop the salary of the petitioner until further order.

(3.) The brief fact of the case is that the petitioner is the Superintendent of Police, Palamau. The accused persons of S.T. case no. 147 of 1989 namely Kundan Pandey and Rabin @ Rabindra Pandey were convicted in the said Sessions Trial case under Sec. 302 / 34 and 307/ 34 of IPC. It appears that convicts filed Cr. Appeal (D.B.) no. 191 of 1990 in this Court but vide judgment dtd. 19/12/2011 , the said appeal was dismissed and the conviction of the said two convicts were confirmed. The convicts then approached the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India vide SLP (Crl.) No. 3888 of 2013 and same was also dismissed vide order dtd. 1/3/2013. It appears that earlier in the said case, vide order dtd. 15/4/2024, the salary of the petitioner was ordered to be stopped till further notice by the predecessor judge, who was presiding over the court of learned Additional Sessions Judge 'II, Palamau at Daltonganj and thereafter convict Rabin @ Rabindra Pandey was nabbed and was produced before the court by the Sub 'Inspector of Police. The petitioner made an assurance by her letter dtd. 20/4/2024 that she would produce the absconding convict Kundan Pandey before the court without taking exception as expeditiously as possible. On the basis of the said assurance, the salary was directed to be released by the then learned Additional Sessions Judge 'II, Palamau at Daltonganj vide order dtd. 23/4/2024. Thereafter, the D.O. letter dtd. 26/6/2024 was sent to the Superintendent of Police, Palamau by the learned Additional Sessions Judge 'II, Palamau at Daltonganj and after that, a notice was sent to her, calling upon her to remain personally present in the court on 14/5/2025 along with the execution report of the process issued against the absconding convict 'Kundan Pandey under Sec. 82/83 of CrPC and the permanent warrant of arrest was issued against the absconding convict 'Kundan Pandey. The Superintendent of Police, Palamau directed the SHO, P.S. Manatu to submit the reports as was called for by the learned Additional Sessions Judge 'II, Palamau at Daltonganj. On 14/5/2025, the In-charge, Officer-in-charge of Manatu P.S., and the Officer-in-charge of Tarhasi P.S., which Officer-in-charges have wrongly been described as the SHO in the impugned, appeared before the learned Additional Sessions Judge 'II, Palamau at Daltonganj, along with the letter bearing no. 418 of 2025 dtd. 14/5/2025. The letter was accompanied with the certificate issued by the village head of Gram Panchayat Arka, Tarhasi, District- Palamau and the letter dtd. 2/2/2025 to show the efforts that were taken by the Tarhasi P.S. to arrest the absconding convict ' Kundan Pandey. It was reported by the In-charge, Officer-in-charge, Manatu P.S. that the convict ' Kundan Pandey was not residing in village Sugi Arka under Tarhasi P.S. since last about 20 years and his house is also toppled, being left abandoned. It was also intimated by police from the secret sources that the absconding convict ' Kundan Pandey is residing near Medchal Railway Station , Hyderabad and efforts were made to arrest him by the S.I. Manindara Kumar Sharma, by personally visiting Hyderabad, after obtaining necessary permissions from the D.I.G, Palamau but he was found absconding from his house at Hyderabad as well. On 9/5/2025, the partially constructed house of convict Kundan Pandey situated at village Sugi Arka was subjected to the mandate of Sec. 83 of Cr.PC in the presence of two independent witnesses and the chattels seized were placed on the safe custody of Malkhana of Manatu P.S. Learned Additional Sessions Judge 'II, Palamau at Daltonganj observed in his impugned order dtd. 14/5/2025, that the Superintendent of Police, Palamau did not furnish the execution report in the form prescribed and the letter filed by the In-charge, Officer-in-charge and the Officer-in-charge of the said two police stations, to whom the trial court has referred to as the emissaries of the petitioner, whereby it has been claimed that attempts were made to nab the absconding convict, also appears to be a measure to hoodwink his court, as the said letter appears to have been manipulated by endorsing the seal of P.S. Cyber Commissionerate, without any date endorsed thereon along with the purported signatures of its receipt by the said Commissionerate. Learned Additional Sessions Judge 'II, Palamau at Daltonganj has observed that when this fact was put to the notice of the emissaries of the S.P, Palamau, the emissaries started sweating under panic and requested the court to grant one final opportunity to them and further assured that within 30 days from 14/5/2025, the absconding convict shall be positively nabbed and produced before the Additional Sessions Judge 'II, Palamau at Daltonganj and by thus observing, learned Additional Sessions Judge 'II, Palamau at Daltonganj granted one more final opportunity to the Superintendent of Police, Palamau and listed the case on 15/6/2025 and observed- 'The S.P, Palamau shall stand bound down to remain present before this court (either in person or through video conferencing) without taking any exceptions thereto, come what may. Else, her recalcitrance shall be viewed sternly' and communicated the order to the Superintendent of Police, Palamau through the I/C Prosecution and the Director General of Police, Jharkhand through Nazarat. The case was next fixed to 15/6/2025 in response to the order dtd. 14/5/2025. The Director General of Police, Jharkhand directed the Superintendent of Police, Palamau to make necessary efforts. The case was next taken up by the trial court on 16/6/2025 apparently because 15/6/2025 was a holiday being a Sunday. On 16/6/2025 the learned trial court observed that neither the Superintendent of Police, Palamau nor any of her emissaries was present on her behalf on 16/6/2025 and there was no compliance and the life convict ' Kundan Pandey was enjoying liberty without any impunity and that the conduct of the Superintendent of Police, Palamau is flagrantly disgraceful to the court, the same amounts to an offence under Sec. 174 of IPC and after expressing his dissatisfaction for the conduct of the Superintendent of Police, Palamau, directed that the salary of the Superintendent of Police, Palamau be stopped till further orders and directed the Superintendent of Police, Palamau to appear in person on the next date, failing which the court shall be constrained to secure her presence before the court through coercive processes apart from ensuring her prosecution under Sec. 174 of IPC and directed that the matter be place before learned Principal District Judge, Palamau with a request to place the matter before the forthcoming meeting of DLMC.