Jharkhand High Court initiates suo motu case after judge gets stuck in traffic due to security lapse

The Jharkhand High Court recently took suo motu cognizance of a lapse in security by the State police in providing security cover to a High Court judge during his commute between the Court and his residence..The Director General of Police of Jharkhand admitted to the security slip but assured that the same will not recur in future.Single-judge Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi took up the matter suo motu after he faced a traumatic experience while commuting to and from the court due to a demonstration organised by a political party along the way. As a result of the demonstration, he was stuck in traffic jam for half an hour and nothing was done by police official despite repeated request by the personal security officer (PSO) of the judge.The Court noted that if one High Court judge is not safe, it implies that the safety of all other judges is also at risk.The Court also referred to the murder of Judge Justice Uttam Anand who was knocked down by an auto-rickshaw while on his morning walk."This is not concern of one Court only if one judge of the High Court is not safe meaning thereby the other judges are not safe that too in a State where a good officer of the higher judiciary of the State has lost his life on the action of some accused which is being investigated by the CBI and being monitored by the Division Bench of this Court," the Court said.The Court opined if nothing is done on the issue, the authority concerned will not take any action with regard to safety of the High Court Judges..It is the highest duty of every governmental agency to guard and protect the judicial institutions from such attack on them, the Court observed."The great cherished values of the Constitution, the rule of law, human rights and the dignity and all varieties of a civilized life will be eroded if such executive high-handedness is allowed to prevail," the Court said.It further stated that High Court judges are esteemed dignitaries who, by virtue of their office and their role in dispensing justice, perform sovereign functions. "No one in the Government's bureaucratic set up can ignore their position as such this Court is constrained to say so because this has happened with the sitting Judge of the High Court," the order noted..The single-judge was addressing the trauma he experienced on August 23 while returning from the High Court to his residence at Kanke Road where the Chief Minister's residence is also located. On that day, a political party had organized a demonstration. As the judge was heading to the Court, it was discovered that a PCR van had been dispatched to his residence. Upon inquiry, the PSO informed that while en route to the judge's house in the morning, he had encountered traffic jam extending up to the Chief Minister's residence. As a result, he had called for a PCR van. Subsequently, the judge was safely escorted to the Court. The judge noted that this action was taken by the PSO independently and the police authorities had not initiated any action. However, things got out of hand during the return journey in the evening. While leaving the Court, the PSO of the judge called the PCR which was unable to provide assistance. Despite making six calls to the control room, the judge remained stuck for half an hour in traffic, with no action taken by the police despite repeated requests by the PSO. The judge also considered walking the remaining 1 km to the residence, but the PSO and driver advised against it deeming it unsafe. The matter was escalated to the Registrar General of the High Court who involved the Director General of Police of Jharkhand. Following this, the Superintendent of Police (Traffic) at Ranchi intervened and the judge was finally escorted home.As a result, the Court took suo motu cognizance of the incident to ensure that the safety of judges is not overlooked."The office shall register case as Courts on its own motion. Registry shall place this order forthwith before the Hon’ble the Acting Chief Justice for needful," the Court directed.Advocate Manish Mishra appeared for State..[Read Order]