Jharkhand High Court slams magistrate for passing orders mechanically, suggests training on holidays

The Jharkhand High Court recently impressed upon a judicial magistrate to not pass orders in a reckless manner and suggested that the judge be made to undergo training on Sundays and other holidays [Abhishek Kumar vs The State of Jharkhand]..Justice Anil Kumar Choudhary passed the order while quashing a proclamation and arrest warrant issued by the Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Jamshedpur against an accused in a rape case.“The Registrar General of this Court is directed to send a copy of this Order to the Principal District Judge, Jamshedpur with a direction to impress upon the Judicial Magistrate concerned, not to pass orders in such reckless manner, without application of mind and unnecessarily enhance the burden upon this Court and if necessary recommend the training of the judicial officer concerned on the Sundays and Holidays in Judicial Academy, Jharkhand, in online mode,” it ordered..The Court passed the direction after finding that the judicial magistrate had passed the orders in a mechanical manner. The proclamation and arrest warrant had been challenged by the accused.With regard to the non-bailable warrant, the Court said there was no observation or satisfaction recorded by the judge that the petitioner (accused) was evading arrest. It went on to remark that the order appears to have been written by “someone else” and the judicial magistrate “has just put his signature mechanically without application of mind, is not sustainable in law”..On the proclamation issued against the accused, the Court said the judicial magistrate had failed to fix any time for his appearance.“This Court has no hesitation in holding that the learned Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Jamshedpur has committed illegality by issuing the said proclamation under Section 82 of Cr.P.C. without complying the mandatory requirements of law. Hence, the same is not sustainable in law and the continuation of the same will amount to abuse of process of law”.Accordingly, the Court allowed the petition and quashed both the orders..Advocate Devesh Ajmani represented the petitioner.Additional Public Prosecutor Satish Prasad represented the State.[Read Judgment]