Nodal agencies set up across Punjab for timely service of summons, HC told

Saurabh Malik

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Chandigarh, September 7

Less than five months after the Punjab and Haryana High Court called for “strengthening the system” for effectively serving the official witness in criminal cases after taking judicial cognisance of “hazardous trend” on the prosecution’s part to delay the proceedings, the state of Punjab has streamlined the process.

As the matter came up for resumed hearing, the Bench of Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice Alok Jain was told that the district and the state nodal agencies had been constituted across Punjab for timely service of summons and production of witnesses/accused before the courts concerned.

The Bench was also told that the entire exercise was carried out “with a view to ensure fair and expeditious trial relating to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and other cases”.

Additional Advocate General JS Mehndiratta also produced before the Bench a notification issued on August 29 by the Department of Home Affairs and Justice.

The counsel for the state of Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, in the meantime, prayed for additional time to place on record the relevant notification/instructions issued by the competent authority for ensuring conclusion of the trials at the earliest.

Taking a note of the submission, the Bench fixed two-week deadline for the purpose. It also directed handing over to the counsel for Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh the copies of written submissions by amicus curiae KS Boparai “regarding reasons and resolution of the menace of delay in concluding criminal trials in the subordinate courts of the two states and the UT”. The case will now come up for further consideration in October second week.

Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri had earlier made it clear that the system was required to be strengthened with the aid of advanced technology for effectively serving the official witness, securing their presence and fixing responsibility.

The direction by came in a case where a 36-year-old woman was facing incarceration for about one-and-a-half year in a drugs case registered at Lambi police station in Muktsar district. But no prosecution witness was examined even though the summons had been issued no less than 14 times by the trial court.

Issuing notice to Haryana and Chandigarh as well, Justice Puri had added methods and mechanism to curb the menace were required to be further explored. As such, Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh were required to consider the issue at the “highest level”.

Justice Puri asserted the high court had seen in a number of cases — especially NDPS matters — that delay was caused due to unexplained reasons at the prosecution’s hands.