The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently directed the District and Sessions Judge of SAS Nagar to convene a meeting to sensitize judicial officers in the district not to adopt a casual approach in criminal trials, particularly when they involve senior citizens [Col. Sukhwinder Singh Dhillon v. State of Punjab].
Justice NS Shekhawat passed the order on July 22, after noticing serious delays in the trial of a case filed by a 76-year-old army veteran, Colonel Sukhwinder Singh Dhillon.
The Court stressed that cases involving senior citizens should be prioritized and decided expeditiously, in a time-bound manner.
The Court added that judicial officers must be advised not to adopt a casual approach in criminal trials and that they should adopt a humane and balanced approach while dealing with litigants.
"Learned District and Sessions Judge, S.A.S. Nagar, is directed to convene a meeting of all judicial officers of the District within a period of one week on receipt of certified copy of this order and the judicial officers may be advised not to adopt such a casual approach in criminal trials. The exemption from personal appearance should be granted, only when reasonable grounds exists for extending such benefits to the accused. Even, the cases of senior citizens should be decided on priority and the Presiding Officers of the Court must adopt a humane and balanced approach in dealing with the litigant," the order said.
The Court was dealing with a plea by Colonel Dhillon, who complained that a case filed by him against alleged online scamsters was being delayed by the accused.
Colonel Dhillon had fallen victim to a fake insurance policy scam and lost money to the tune of ₹58.68 lakhs.
He alleged that the accused in this case had intentionally caused delays in the trial by frequently being absent from court and requesting numerous exemptions from personal appearances.
He added that the trial court was also being extremely lenient in granting requests by the accused to adjourn the case or to exempt them from having to personally appear for hearings.
The Court noted that the trial court had been unduly lenient towards both the accused as well as the jail authorities who failed to produce the accused on 10 consecutive dates.
The Court criticized such a casual handling of trial proceedings involving a senior citizen.
"It is shocking to note that the trial Court was unreasonably lenient with the jail authorities, who had failed to produce the case before the Court. Rather, the orders were passed casually and the case was adjourned repeatedly by the Presiding Officers of the Court. Similarly, in the last almost four years, only two witnesses have been recorded by the Court, even though, the matter was being perused by the retired Army Officer, who travels from Amritsar to Mohali to attend the Court proceedings at the age of 76 years. Still further, it appears that the Presiding Officers of the Court were unreasonably lenient and very kind to the accused in the present case," the Court said.
The Court relied on the Supreme Court's judgement in the matter of Kartar Singh Vs. State of Punjab to reiterate that a speedy trial serves as a crucial safeguard not only to prevent undue and oppressive detention for the accused, but also to fulfill society’s interest in ensuring timely justice.
The Court proceeded to direct the trial court hearing Colonel Dhillon's case to decide on the matter within eight months after receiving a copy of the order.
It also directed that a copy of the order be placed before all trial judges who had dealt with the case earlier, so that they are more careful in future.
"Learned District and Sessions Judge, S.A.S. Nagar, is also directed to sent the copy of this order to all the presiding officers, who had dealt with the present case since 30.09.2021 and to advise them to be careful in future," the order said.
Advocate Neha Shukla appeared for Colonel Dhillon. Deputy Advocate General MS Bajwa represented the Punjab government.
[Read Order]