Muthu v. The Administration Of Andaman And Nicobar Island And ANR
IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
[ CIRCUIT BENCH AT PORT BLAIR ] ...
CRR/5/2024 Shri Muthu ... Petitioner Vs.
The Administration of Andaman & Nicobar Islands & Anr. ... Opposite Parties Mr. Mit Guha Roy ... for the Petitioner (Through Virtual Mode) Mr. Salim Mohammed Ms. A.S. Zinu ...for the State January 10, 2024 [M.A.Mobin] Item No.12 Learned Advocate for the petitioner claims that an application under Article 227 of the Constitution of India was preferred before the Hon'ble High Court seeking for appropriate directions for enabling the Petitioner for virtual hearing before the learned Judicial Magistrate, Campbell Bay, A & N Islands. The learned Magistrate on the different set of parameters sent the records of U.R. Case No.72 of 2022 to the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nicobar.
According to the learned Advocate the provisions and Section 322 of the Criminal Procedure Code do not empower the Learned Magistrate to pass such an order.
The learned Public Prosecutor and the learned Additional Public Prosecutor on behalf of the State are present. I have considered the submissions advanced on behalf of the State and the objections they have raised in respect of the submission advanced by the petitioner.
I have taken into account the order under challenge dated 03.11.2023.
Learned Magistrate has recorded his grievance/dissatisfaction in respect of the accusations which have been leveled against him by the accused person which is set out as follows:
"Most surprisingly and astonishingly this Court on 11.10.2023 and 12.10.2023 respectively through the Authority concerned was apprised of a set of complaint letters bearing date 07.10.2023 (of accused P. Selvam) and 09.10.2023 (of accused Muthu) as taken out by the present accuseds interalia raising the following allegations against this Court:-
(1) This Court has intentionally did not take in its Judicial Note despite of making and / or preferring applications for providing aforesaid Link on the part of the accuseds herein.
(2) This court has refused to allow the accuseds for being provided with such aforesaid Link.
(3) This Court has neglected to provide aforesaid Link in favour of the accuseds for enabling their Learned Counsel to attend this proceeding through Virtual mode.
(4) This Court has not considered necessary to shift in virtual and hybrid modes for conducting the hearing of Judicial proceedings when the entire country has shifted in such modes post breakdown of COVID-19 Pandemic.
(5) Due to the aforesaid acts on the part of this Court, the accuseds were unable to get themselves represented through their Learned Counsel for defending and/or assisting them. One of the aforesaid complaint letters dated 09.10.2023 as authored by accused /Muthu appears to have been addressed to the highest levelled Authorities of this Nation including the Hon'ble President of India, the Hon'ble Chief Justice of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India including the Hon'ble Chief Justice of the Hon'ble High Court, Calcutta. The substance and contents of the aforesaid complaint letters have not only hampered and tarnished the dignity of this Court but has also put into question the Judicial Integrity of this Court which has immensely pained this Court into the deep core of my heart. In other words, the same impliedly expresses distrust on the integrity and fairness of this Court from the end of the accuseds and in
such a situation, it is my extreme considered view that it would be against my Judicial ethics to take up and retain the further proceedings of the instant case before this court since nothing is above such ethics to a Court of Law entrusted to discharge its duties without any fear and favour calling for to recuse myself from the domain of the instant proceedings." Having regard to the reasons assigned by the learned Judicial Magistrate who has recued himself from adjudicating the matter and the petitioner has raised issues not only in respect of the integrity but also the same has hurt the dignity of the judicial officer, I am of the view that this Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is not empowered under such circumstances to invoke its inherent powers as none of the parameters under the said Section is satisfied. Accordingly, CRR 5 of 2024 is dismissed.
Parties to act on a server copy of this order duly collected from the official website of the Hon'ble High Court at Calcutta. Urgent Photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties, subject to compliance with all requisite formalities.
(Tirthankar Ghosh, J.)