In a mix-up, Judge dismisses land case plea, draws HC ire

Saurabh Malik

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Chandigarh, October 5

Strange as it may sound, an Additional District and Sessions Judge dismissed a case after taking note of the facts pertaining to another matter. Rapping the Judge for complete carelessness and not reading the order before signing it, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has now asked him to ensure due care and caution to avoid “such a lapse” in the future.

The admonition by Justice Gurvinder Singh Gill of the High Court came on a petition filed by Tota Singh challenging an order, dated May 2, 2016, passed in a land matter by the Additional Sessions Judge, then posted in Ludhiana. Appearing before the Bench, the petitioner’s counsel submitted that the court dismissed the revision petition while taking note of facts of a different case altogether.

Justice Gill asserted that the court indeed found that the revisional court had taken note of certain facts, which were totally alien to the present case and apparently pertained to some other matter. The allegations in the present case were broadly to the effect that the accused/respondents sold off the complainant’s property to another person. “But the facts as noticed in the impugned order passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Ludhiana, pertain to some other case”.

Justice Gill also reproduced in his judgment the observations made by the lower court Judge in the impugned order. Among other things, the order stated that the revisionist before the court was working as a clerk in the Khanna SDM’s office, from where the accused allegedly got a driving licence issued on forged documents.

“The conduct of the presiding officer is an act of sheer carelessness who has not even bothered to read the order before signing the same. The said order, dated May 2, 2016, passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Ludhiana, certainly cannot sustain and is hereby set aside,” Justice Gill ordered.

Before parting with the case, Justice Gill remanded the matter back to the court of the Ludhiana Sessions Judge to decide the issue afresh. Taking note of the fact that the matter pertained to a complaint instituted way back in 2012, Justice Gill directed the revisional court to dispose of the revision petition after hearing the parties expeditiously, preferably within a month. A copy of the order was directed to be conveyed to the judicial officer, present posted as the Additional Sessions Judge in Amritsar.

What the Bench said

A copy of this order be conveyed to the judicial officer, at present posted as the Additional Sessions Judge at Amritsar, to ensure that due care and caution is taken to avoid such a lapse in the future. — Justice Gurvinder Singh Gill