Subhash S/O Girdharlal Nawandar Vs. Dinesh S/O Subhash Nawandar - Court Judgment

Oral Judgment :

1] Heard respective learned counsel for the parties.

2] Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. With the consent of the learned counsel for the parties taken up for final hearing at the admission stage itself.

3] This is an application preferred by the applicant (original accused) under Section 407 of the Code of Criminal Procedure requesting that S.C.C. No. 1487 of 2012, pending before the learned 7th Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Aurangabad, be transferred to the court of competent jurisdiction at Latur.

4] The applicant herein is the father of the respondent. It is the contention of the applicant that R.C.S. No. 61 of 2008 was filed by the elder son of the present applicant for partition and separate possession before the Civil Judge, Junior Division, Chakur, Distict Latur. Accordingly, the said suit was compromised inter se between the parties, to which present applicant and the respondent were parties. A copy of R.C.S. No. 61 of 2008 and the copy of the compromise purshis as well as decree therein are annexed with the application at Exh. ‘A collectively. According to the said compromise purshis, the present applicant being Karta of the family was to pay amount of Rs.25,00,000/- to the present respondent, and accordingly, a cheque no. 371619, dated 12.12.2011 drawn on H.D.F.C. Bank, Latur was issued in favour of the respondent. However, according to the applicant, condition no. (E) of the compromise purshis indicates that the said amount was to be paid on sale of the suit land. The said compromise purshis bears signatures of all the parties and all are residents of Latur, except present respondent. However, it is the contention of the applicant that the respondent without waiting for the sale proceeds created charge on the land and as a result the applicant could not sale out the said suit land for want of clear title and the respondent allegedly committed breach of the terms of the said compromise.

5] It is the contention of the applicant that the respondent herein has initiated proceedings under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act against the applicant herein bearing S.C.C. No. 1487 of 2012 at Aurangabad on the basis of the afore said cheque and process has been issued therein and copy thereof is annexed at Exh. ‘C.

6] According to the applicant, only process has been issued in the said proceeding and further evidence is yet to be started. Hence, it is submitted that it is expedient in the interest of justice to transfer the S.C.C. No. 1487 of 2012 from Aurangabad to Latur by invoking provisions of Section 407 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It is the contention of the applicant that all the parties to R.C.S. No. 61 of 2008 are residing at Latur itself except the respondent herein.

7] It is the contention of the applicant that he has preferred application below Exh.33 under Section 191 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before the learned 7th Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Aurangabad to transfer the said case to the competent court at Latur. However, the said application came to be rejected on 24.8.2012 and copy thereof is annexed at Exh.D with the application. It is further the contention of the applicant that he is an old aged person suffering from diabetes and neuropathy and sciatica and as a result of said ailment, it is not possible for him to travel from Latur to Aurangabad on each and every date. Even it is stated that it is difficult for the applicant to maintain the sitting position while travelling from Latur to Aurangabad since he resides at Latur. According to the applicant, the litigating parties to the suit and even witnesses belong to Latur, and hence, he prayed to transfer S.C.C. No. 1487 of 2012 from the court of the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Aurangabad to the competent court at Latur under Section 407 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in the interest of justice.

8] Moreover, it is also the contention of the applicant that the elder son of the applicant has filed S.T.C. No. 433 of 2012 against the applicant at Latur and it would be difficult for the applicant to attend one proceeding at Latur and another proceeding at Aurangabad emanating from the compromise decree between the parties. Moreover, it is further the case of the applicant that the distance between Auragnabad and Latur is about 600 Kms. and it is next to impossible for the applicant to attend each and every date from Latur to Aurangabad due to his physical disabilities and ailments.

9] To substantiate the afore said contentions, learned counsel for the applicant relied upon the judicial pronouncement in the case of MrudulM. Damle and another vs Central Bureau of Investigation, New Delhi, reported in (2012) 5 S.C.C. 706, as follows:-

“12. In Abdul Nazar Madani v. State of T.N., this Court while dealing with a prayer for transfer of the criminal case from one court to other emphasised the importance of fairness of a trial and observed that while no universal or hardandfast rules can be prescribed for deciding a transfer petition which has always to be decided on the basis of the facts of each case, convenience of the parties including the witnesses to be produced at the trial is a relevant consideration. This Court observed : (SCC pp.21011, para 7)

‘7. The purpose of the criminal trial is to dispense fair and impartial justice uninfluenced by extraneous considerations. When it is shown that public confidence in the fairness of a trial would be seriously undermined, any party can seek the transfer of a case within the State under Section 407 and anywhere in the country under Section 407 CrPC. The apprehension of not getting a fair and impartial inquiry or trial is required to be reasonable and not imaginary, based upon conjectures and surmises. If it appears that the dispensation of criminal justice is not possible impartially and objectively and without any bias, before any court or even at any place, the appropriate court may transfer the case to another court where it feels that holding of fair and proper trial is conducive. No universal or hard-and-fast rules can be prescribed for deciding a transfer petition which has always to be decided on the basis of the facts of each case. Convenience of the parties including the witnesses to be produced at the trial is also a relevant consideration for deciding the transfer petition. The convenience of the parties does not necessarily mean the convenience of the petitioners alone who approached the court on misconceived notions of apprehension. Convenience for the purposes of transfer means the convenience of the prosecution, other accused, the witnesses and the larger interest of the society. ”

10] Accordingly, learned counsel for the applicant submitted that convenience of the parties including the witnesses to be examined at the trial is the relevant consideration for transfer of criminal case from one court to other, and accordingly, urged that in the present case the said convenience is in favour of the applicant since witnesses also belong to Latur, and therefore, urged that present application be allowed for the prayers as set out herein above.

11] Learned counsel for the respondent countered the said arguments and opposed the said application vehemently and submitted that the respondent herein resides at Aurangabad and the transaction in respect of the complaint filed by the complainant took place at Aurangabad, and therefore, he has filed the complaint before the learned Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Aurangabad, which has jurisdiction to entertain and try the said complaint, which is under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. He further submitted that out of the four witnesses cited by the complainant, three witnesses belong to Aurangabad and only one witness belongs to Latur, and therefore, even the conveinence of the witnesses warrant that S.C.C.1487 of 2012 be tried at Aurangabad, and hence, there is no necessity to transfer the said complaint from the court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Aurangabad to the court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Latur. Accordingly, learned counsel for the respondent submitted that there is no reason to transfer the said S.C.C.1487 of 2012 from the court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Aurangabad to the court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Latur, and urged that present application be rejected.

12] I have perused the contents of the present application, its annexures and heard the rival submissions advanced by the learned counsel for the parties and also perused the judicial pronouncement cited by the learned counsel for the applicant.

13] At the out set, it is a dispute between the father and the son, and admittedly, the applicant herein is original accused i.e. father of respondent herein. The respondent herein has filed S.C.C. No. 1487 of 2012 against the applicant herein before Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Aurangabad, for the offences punishable under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act on 4.4.2012 and same is pending before the said court. It is submitted that process has been issued in the said case against the applicant herein and the applicant appeared therein and preferred an application on 18.8.2012 under Section 191 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for the transfer of the said case to the court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Latur. Learned trial court obtained the say of the respondent herein, who opposed the said application. Thereafter, learned trial court has passed an order on the said application Exh. 33 and rejected the same on 21.8.2012. It is also submitted that the respondent herein, who is original complainant in the said complaint, has also filed affidavit of evidence in the said complaint and matter is at the stage of conducting cross-examination by the accused i.e. applicant herein. At this juncture, the applicant has preferred the present application for the prayers as set out herein above.

14] It appears from the title clause of the present application that the age of the applicant is 64 years. Moreover, the applicant has annexed the medical certificate, dated 25.7.2012 at Exh. ‘E along with the present application. A bare perusal of the said certificate discloses that the applicant is suffering from diabetes, neuropathy and sciatica, and he has difficulty in sitting position. Moreover, the applicant has also made averment to that effect in para no. 8 of the present application on oath. However, the respondent has not filed any affidavit in reply and has not countered the said averment on oath. Hence, the averment made by the applicant in respect of the said ailment, which is substantiated by the medical certificate, dated 25.7.2012 (Exh. E) is required to be accepted, and consequently, the prayer made by the applicant herein for transfer of the case on medical ground deserves to be granted.

15] Moreover, the S.C.C. No. 1487 of 2012 (Exh. ‘C) discloses that the complainant himself belongs to Aurangabad; whereas one witness i.e. Branch Manager, Bank of Baroda, belongs to Aurangabad, but another witness i.e. Branch Manager, H.D.F.C. Bank, Latur belongs to Latur, as well as the applicant resides at Latur, and therefore, it is apparent that some witnesses belong to Aurangabad and some witnesses belong to Latur. However, it cannot be ignored that the compromise in R.C.S. No. 61 of 2008, which is the basis of the afore said complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, took place before the learned Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Chakur, District Latur. Moreover, sight cannot be lost of the aspect of distance between Latur and Aurangabad, which is reportedly 600 Kms. and considering the age and ailment of the applicant, it cannot be denied that it would be difficult for the applicant to travel the said distance on each and every dates of the afore said case.

16] In the circumstances, reliance can be very well placed on the judicial pronouncement cited by the learned counsel for the applicant (supra), and considering the importance of the fairness of the trial, the convenience of the parties including the witnesses is the relevant consideration for transfer of criminal case from one court to other court and having comprehensive view of the matter, I am of the opinion that present petition deserves to be allowed and S.C.C. No. 1487 of 2012 pending before the 7th Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Aurangabad deserves to be transferred to the competent court at Latur and same is required to be expedited, in the interest of justice.

17] In the result, present petition is allowed in terms of prayer clause ‘A thereof and it is directed that S.C.C. No. 1487 of 2012 pending before the learned 7th Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Aurangabad be transferred to the Sessions Judge, Latur, with direction that it be assigned to the appropriate Judicial Magistrate, First Class, to decide it, in accordance with law, expeditiously.

18] Rule is made absolute in the afore said terms.