Need for vigilance, corrective action against erring jail authorities: HC

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has called for strict vigilance and corrective action against erring jail authorities in the state following repeated lapses in producing accused before the trial courts on scheduled dates.

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Admonishing the jail authorities for complete disregard for statutory duties, the court asserted that such lapses delayed the administration of justice and raised serious concerns about potential malpractices within the system.

Expressing apprehensions over the possibility of an “unholy nexus” between certain jail officials and accused persons, Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul further warned that such practices would amount to a blatant violation of judicial orders.

“The authorities would be well advised to take steps to prevent such lapses in the future and to root out such malpractices,” the court asserted. It directed forwarding the order’s copy to the Home Secretary for necessary action and compliance.

The directive came during the hearing of a case where the court was compelled to intervene due to the repeated non-production of the accused before the trial court. “Before parting, this court would want to comment on the conduct of the jail authorities in the present matter, which is appalling and reflects an utter disregard for their statutory duties,” the court observed.

Justice Kaul asserted that this was not the first time that the accused were not produced before the trial court. “It has been coming to this court’s notice time and again that on the scheduled dates, the accused are not produced before the trial court resulting in the cases being adjourned as a consequence of which conclusion of the trials are being delayed,” Justice Kaul added.

The court observed the repeated and possibly deliberate failures to produce the accused before the trial court on scheduled dates demonstrated a flagrant violation of the judicial orders. Such gross negligence stalled the course of justice and also trampled upon the fundamental rights of the accused forcing the courts to intervene.

“Moreover, this court cannot ignore the possibility of an unholy nexus between certain unscrupulous jail officials and accused persons to delay trials intentionally, thereby creating grounds for bail. Such a possibility requires strict vigilance and corrective action by the authorities concerned,” the court concluded.