Bombay High Court imposes cost on 16 bail petitioners for seeking time

The Bombay High Court recently imposed costs of ₹5,000 each on 16 bail petitioners on the ground that their counsel sought time to seek instructions in a matter which was substantially argued (Sambhaji Shirsat v. State of Maharashtra and connected matters).Justice AS Gadkari was hearing a clutch of 16 applications by teachers and State education officers seeking anticipatory bail in a common FIR..During the hearing, advocate Niranjan Mundargi had argued the application on behalf of the applicants he was representing.“The Court however did not seem inclined to grant the application,” one of the counsel appearing for the applicant told Bar & Bench. .When the next lawyer began making submission, there was some clarificatory queries put forth by the Court to which the lawyer sought time to get instructions from his client..The Court was however miffed by such request for adjournment. “This Court did not appreciate the practice adopted by the concerned counsel/Advocate(s),” the order said..Enquiring with the lawyers on what “practice” the Court was referring to, the lawyers told Bar & Bench that “the Court assumed the lawyers for applicants were hoping for a change in bench due to possible change in roster” .Upon earnest requests, the Court agreed to grant conditional adjournment upon payment of exemplary costs to the Special Public Prosecutor who had travelled from outside Mumbai for this matter. .After the Counsel for the applicants prayed for leniency and sought for reduction in the costs imposed, the Court imposed a cost of ₹5,000 per application to be paid to the Maharashtra Police Welfare Fund (MPWF)..The applicants were seeking anticipatory bail in an FIR registered for offences of cheating and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act. .The allegations in the FIR were as follows:During a ban period on fresh recruitment of teachers in government aided schools, some officers from education department and educational institutions systematically maneuvered, conspired and planned dubious methods of appointments of teachers; The dubious methods purportedly were committing forgery of various documents like letter heads of the educational institution and various other registers maintained by the School and Education Department, orders.FIR was registered as such actions have caused a huge loss to the public exchequer..The Court will hear the applicants now on October 6, 2021. .[Read order]