The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently expressed shock over the fact that over it took over five years for lower court record (LCR) in a criminal appeal to reach a Sessions Court in Amritsar [Amandeep Singh v Preet Industries and Anr]..Justice NS Shekhawat said the appellate court had failed to take effective steps for summoning the LCR.Such negligent act on the part of the judicial officers is totally unacceptable and amounts to denial of speedy justice to the litigants who approach the Court with the hope that justice shall be delivered to them at the earliest, the Bench said."It is also apparent that the appeal in the present case was instituted before the Court of Sessions Judge, Amritsar on 03.01.2020 and shockingly, the lower Court record was not received by the Appellate Court for a period of more than five years from a local court itself. It is really painful to notice that the Presiding Officers of the Appellate Court had passed routine orders and did not bother to take any effective steps for summoning the lower Court record," it added..The Court was hearing a petition moved by an accused in a case under Negotiable Instruments (NI) Act for expeditious decision on his appeal pending before an Additional Sessions Judge. Last month, the High Court expressed shock that the appellate court did not receive the record from lower court despite the fact both the courts are situated at Amritsar only. District and Sessions Judge, Amritsar, who was asked to look into the matter, later told the Court that appropriate disciplinary action has already been initiated against three officials of District Court, Amritsar for not issuing the docket for the requisition of LCR, despite orders passed by the respective courts..It is expected that the disciplinary proceedings shall be taken to its logical end, the High Court said in an order passed on February 5.Further, the Bench took exception to the conduct of the judges and ordered that,"Consequently, the District and Sessions Judge, Amritsar is directed to forward a copy of this order to all the judicial officers, who had handled this appeal in the past and all judicial officers are advised to be careful in future.".The Court directed the appellate court to decide the NI Act appeal on April 1 itself or within a period of one week thereafter. Under no circumstances should the appeal be adjourned, the Court made it clear.Advocate Jasneet Mehra appeared for the petitioner.[Read Judgment].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.
