Jharkhand High Court
Mokarram Mohammad @ Md. Mokarram vs State Of Jharkhand on 26 April, 2023
Author: Gautam Kumar Choudhary
Bench: Gautam Kumar Choudhary
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
Transfer Petition (Cr.) No. 24 of 2022
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Mokarram Mohammad @ Md. Mokarram ... .... Petitioner Versus
1. State of Jharkhand
2. The Union of India through Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) through Superintendent of Police, Dhanbad ... .... Opp. Parties
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CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE GAUTAM KUMAR CHOUDHARY
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For the Petitioner : Mr. Kaustav Roy, Advocate
For the State : Ms. Priya Shrestha, Spl. P.P.
For the CBI : Mr. P.A.S. Pati, Sr. Spl.P.P.
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C.A.V. ON 19.04.2023 PRONOUNCED ON 26 / 04/2023
1. The instant transfer petition has been filed for the following cases:
i. Borio P.S. Case No. 147 of 2013 (G.R. No. 10377 of 2013) from the court of Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Sahibganj to the court of SDJM-cum-Spl. J.M., CBI, Dhanbad.
ii. Radhanagar P.S. Case No. 114 of 2018 from the court of Principal District and Sessions Judge, Sahibganj to the court of SDJM-cum- Spl. J.M., CBI, Dhanbad.
iii. Putki P.S. Case No. 02 of 2014 (G.R. No. 14 of 2014) from the court of Judicial Magistrate, Dhanbad to the court of SDJM-cum- Spl. J.M., CBI, Dhanbad.
iv. Godda(T) P.S. Case No. 637 of 2015 (G.R. No. 1716 of 2015) from the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Godda to the court of SDJM- cum-Spl. J.M., CBI, Dhanbad.
2. It is submitted by the learned Counsel on behalf of the Petitioner that he along with other directors Incorporated M/s Sunshine Global Agro Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the 'company') which was engaged in the business of operating nursery and plantation.
3. On 22.5.2013 Borio P.S. Case no. 147/2013 was registered under sections 420/120 (B) IPC r/w Sections 3/4/5/6 of The Prize Chits and Money Circulation Scheme (Banning) Act, 1978 against the Company.
24. Subsequently, several FIRs were registered against the petitioner and other directors of the company in various police stations of the state of Jharkhand:-
a. On 02.04.2013 FIR bearing No. 147 of 2013 was lodged against the petitioner in P.S. Godda Nagar. The same has been transferred to CBI and has been registered as Case No. RC 5(S)/2017-EOW-R. b. On 06.09.2013 FIR bearing No. 543 of 2013 was lodged against the petitioner in P.S. Deoghar. The same has been transferred to CBI and has been registered as Case No. RC 8(A)/2015. c. On 05.05.2015 FIR bearing No. 178 of 2015 was lodged under Section 406, 420 of IPC against the petitioner in P.S. Pakur(T). The same has been transferred to CBI and has been registered as Case No. RC 31(S)/2017-EOW-R. d. On 09.09.2015 FIR bearing No. 637 of 2015 was lodged under Sections 420, 406, 467, 468, 471, 120B of IPC against the petitioner in P.S. Godda Nagar, Godda.
e. On 13.09.2017 FIR bearing No. 178 of 2015 which was lodged against the petitioner in P.S. Pakur(T) was transferred to CBI by the order of this Court in W.P.(PIL) No. 1635 of 2014 (Jharkhand against Corruption Vs. The State of Jharkhand & Ors.) vide judgment dated 11.05.2015. Subsequently, the case was registered by the CBI as Case No. RC 31(S)/2017-EOW-R under Sections 406, 420 of IPC on 13.09.2017 and vide letter dated 29.03.2019 directed the petitioner to join the investigation on 08.04.2019. f. On 10.10.2018 FIR bearing No. 114 of 2018 was lodged under Sections 420, 406, 467, 468 of IPC against the petitioner in P.S. Radhanagar, Sahibganj.
5. Out of the above FIRs the following cases have been transferred to Spl Court CBI, Dhanbad:-
i. FIR No. 178 of 2015 was lodged against the petitioner in P.S. Pakur (T).
ii. FIR No. 543 of 2013 was lodged against the petitioner in P.S. Deoghar.
iii. FIR No. 147 of 2013 was lodged against the petitioner in P.S. Godda Nagar.
36. In pursuance of the letter dated 29.03.2019, the petitioner joined the investigation and submitted all relevant documents with the investigating officer. Thereafter the investigating officer submitted Charge sheet No. 13/2019 dated 30.09.2019 before the concerned court of SDJM- cum-Spl. JM, CBI, Dhanbad in Case No. RC 31(S)/2017 EOW. Vide order dated 04.11.2019 the court of SDJM-cum-Spl. JM, CBI, Dhanbad in Case No. RC 31(S)/2017 EOW took cognizance for the offence under Sections 120B, 406, 409, 420 of IPC read with Sections 4, 5, 6 of Prize Chits and Money Circulation (Banning) Act, 1978 against the petitioner and other directors of the company and issued summons to the accused persons.
7. The plea for transfer of the remaining cases registered in the different districts of Jharkhand is for the reason that all the cases are of similar nature having similar allegations and the petitioner is a senior citizen and he would not be in a position to individually appear before the different Courts and therefore in the interest of justice the prayer has been made for transfer of cases to the court of SDJM cum Spl. J.M., CBI, Dhanbad where his other cases are pending.
8. The learned APP has opposed the transfer petition. It is submitted that the transfer will cause hardship to the complainant and witnesses and there is no compelling reason for transfer of cases.
9. Under section 407, Cr.P.C the following grounds are provided for transfer of cases and appeals by the High Court:
i. A fair and impartial enquiry or trial cannot be made. ii. Some question of law of unusual difficulties likely to arise. iii. Order of transfer will tend to the general convenience of the parties, witnesses or is expedient in the interest of justice and transfer order is required by any provision of this Code.
10. The instant petition has been preferred on the ground of convenience of the accused person to attend the trial in different places.
11. Chapter XIII of the Cr.P.C provides for jurisdiction of the criminal Courts in inquiries and trials. Section 177 provides for ordinary place of enquiry and trial. It provides that every offence shall ordinarily be enquired into and tried by a court within whose local jurisdiction it was committed. It is clear from Sections 177 to 179 that the offence shall ordinarily be inquired into and tried by a court within whose local 4 jurisdiction it was committed.
12. This court is of the view that the order of transfer of case will entail hardship to the complainant and witnesses to travel from their respective places to Dhanbad for appearing before the court. The convenience of the accused is not compelling enough to override the interest and convenience of the complainant and witnesses. However, in order to mitigate the hardship of the accused, the trial Court while considering the petition under Section 317 of the Cr.P.C will not be unmindful of the observations of the Hon'ble Apex Court made in Maneka Sanjay Gandhi v. Rani Jethmalani, (1979) 4 SCC 167:
"8. The trial court should readily consider the liberal exercise of its power to grant for the accused exemption from personal appearance save on crucial occasions."
The petition for transfer accordingly stands rejected.
(Gautam Kumar Choudhary, J.) Jharkhand High Court, Ranchi Dated the 26th April, 2023 AFR / AKT