Exercise caution before embarking on judicial misadventures: Delhi HC tells trial court judge

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Thursday ordered to delete certain adverse remarks and directions by a trial court against two police officials here and asked the judicial officer concerned to exercise care and caution in future before embarking on such "judicial misadventures".

Justice Anish Dayal noted that there are decisions of the Supreme Court and high court disapproving "overreach by judicial officers beyond their judicial functions" while emphasising that unnecessary remarks have serious implications on the careers of public servants.

In the present case, the trial court had directed the police commissioner to get an inquiry conducted against the petitioners i.e. the SHO and the investigating officer (IO) concerned and also made certain adverse remarks against them in relation to an ongoing criminal proceeding, such as that there was "something fishy on part of police".

The issues highlighted by the trial court, the high court noted, included the police's opposition to the anticipatory bail plea by the accused as well as issuance of notice under section 41A of CrPC to the accused for appearance before it and certain omissions in the case diary.

The proceedings before the trial court pertained to an FIR registered under

the Indian Penal Code for an alleged theft of sarees worth Rs 15 lakh from the shop of the complainant at Defence Colony.

Justice Dayal observed that it was "quite evident" that the trial court "excessively exaggerated the issues relating to the conduct of the petitioners in relation to investigation and keeping of records" and the trial court "ought not to have embarked on an inexorable quest when his original concern had been suitably addressed".

"It is expected therefore that the Ld. ASJ (additional sessions judge) would be circumspect and exercise care and caution in future before embarking on these judicial misadventures," said the high court.

"It is directed that all remarks against the petitioners in orders dated 21st January, 2023 and 31st January, 2023 passed by Ld., Additional Sessions Judge, South East, Saket Courts, New Delhi shall be expunged and all directions for conducting enquiries and explanations by the DCP or the Commissioner of Police shall be recalled and stand deleted from the said orders," it ordered.

The court said the remarks and the phraseology used by the judicial officer were summary in nature, penal in its scope, stigmatizing in its tone and tenor, which was beyond the ken of expected judicial conduct.

It also noted that similar remarks against certain other police officials by the same judicial officer have been earlier deleted and expunged by it in another case as well.

"Not only are such remarks unnecessary but also could have serious implications on the careers of public servants, particularly for what seems in the facts and circumstances as perfunctory issues which have no huge negative impact on the actual administration of the criminal justice process," said the court.

In the order, the court also said that the trial court "unnecessarily disbelieved" a report of the DCP and "overreached to order yet another enquiry" from a DCP outside the jurisdiction concerned and the same was "completely exaggerated and wholly unnecessary and merely impinges on the administrative time of the police authorities for something which was already addressed and possibly, at some level, quite trivial".

It also said that the opposition of the IO to the anticipatory bail application was normal and any concession to the contrary would "have amounted to it being fishy".