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Tag: high court

  • Only Court Can Transfer Undertrial Prisoners: JK High Court

    Only Court Can Transfer Undertrial Prisoners: JK High Court

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    SRINAGAR: The JK and Ladakh High Court on Monday ruled that the power to transfer an undertrial prisoner from one jail to another only vests with the Magistrate or the Court.

    Live Law Wire reported that the court or magistrate is the ultimate authority to shift an undertrail prisoner after it has remanded the detenue to a certain prison, and jail authorities cannot have a say in this.

    Referring to the Prison Manual 2022-for the superintendence and management of prisons in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir read with Prisoners Act, 1900, a bench comprising of Justice M A Chowdhary observed that the transfer of an undertrial can be done by a judicial order in this regard passed by a court.

    “The power to remand or transfer of an undertrial prisoner from one jail to another is to be exercised by the Court by passing a judicial order, obviously after providing opportunity of being heard and that the change in the place of detention would be permissible only with the permission of the Court under whose warrant the undertrial has been remanded to custody,” bench observed.

    The observations were passed while hearing a plea filed by a widowed mother seeking transfer of her undertrial son from district jail, Poonch to Central jail, Srinagar or any other jail close to his home to meet the ends of justice.

    The Undertrail who is facing a trial for a case registered at Police Station Uri, Baramulla under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), has been in judicial custody since his arrest in July 2017,. He was removed from Sub Jail, Baramulla to District Jail, Poonch on the grounds that that he was not a disciplined prisoner and that he had misbehaved with the jail staff and created law and order situation in the jail.

    After considering the contentions of the petitioner the bench observed that the widowed mother of the undertrail would visit him as and when needed while he was lodged in Baramulla jail but later he was shifted to District Jail, Poonch without any intimation to the petitioner.

    The petitioner approached the Director General of Police, Prisons, J&K seeking transfer of her son to District Jail, Srinagar, but received no response and accordingly the petitioner filed an application in the trial court seeking change in custody, which was dismissed.

    In view of the same the petitioner was constrained to file the instant petition seeking transfer/shifting of her son’s custody from District Jail, Poonch to Central Jail, Srinagar or any other jail near his home.

    The court noted that the respondents have failed to place on record as to what were the jail offences that he committed and how he had been proceeded against and merely saying that he had been an undisciplined prisoner does not warrant to his transfer to a distant place.

     

    Elaborating further on the matter Justice Chowdhary observed that though Section 417 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides for appointment of the place of imprisonment by the State Government, however, in view of the interpretation by the Apex Court in State of Maharashtra & Ors. v. Saeed Sohail Sheikh 2013, the power to direct transfer of the undertrial prisoner from one jail to another clearly vests with the Magistrate/ Court which had remanded the detenue to a certain prison.

     

    Underscoring that it will be difficult for a widowed mother to go to Poonch to meet her son, the court pointed out that petitioner, in this case, has been shifted from Sub Jail Baramulla to a distant prison which is at the farthest place in Jammu Division at Poonch.

    “The petitioner’s family, in case they require to meet the petitioner as an undertrial in district jail, Poonch, have to travel all along from Kashmir to Jammu and then from Jammu to Poonch for almost two days,” the court said.

    The court directed the respondents to shift the petitioner from district jail, Poonch and keep him in any other prison in Kashmir Division, preferably near his home, after seeking necessary orders on his behalf from the trial Court.

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    ( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

  • Electrocution Deaths: HC Constitutes Committee To Ensure Implementation Of Safety Measures

    Electrocution Deaths: HC Constitutes Committee To Ensure Implementation Of Safety Measures

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    SRINAGAR: The High Court of JK and Ladakh High while taking serious note of the deaths caused due to electrocution and injuries due to electric shocks, ordered for the constitution of a committee to ensure the implementation of statutory safety measures and regulations enshrined in the Central Electricity Authority (Measures relating to Safety and Electric Supply) Regulations, 2010, in letter and spirit.

    The three member panel will be headed by the Commissioner Secretary, State’s Power Development Department (PDD) and will comprise of the Chief Engineers of the Department.

    The court has also directed District Magistrates of all districts in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh to ensure compliance with Regulation 58 of Central Electricity Authority (Measures relating to Safety and Electric Supply) Regulations, 2010 on a war footing, which provides for clearance above ground level of conductors of overhead lines, including electricity service lines.

    While awarding compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of Jatinder Kumar, a casual labourer, who died while carrying out restoration work on a transformer in Jammu, a bench comprising Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal observed that that the accident occurred due to non-adherence to safety measures such as local earthings, hand insulating gloves, proper isolation, and other safety measures by the maintenance staff. “The deceased worker’s mother, wife, and daughter will receive the compensation within two months of the court order,” the bench concluded.

    “It appears that deaths due to electrocution as well as bodily injuries due to electric shocks are ignored as mere accidents. The colossal loss of human lives and especially children is totally unacceptable, grim and heart rending. Such unfortunate deaths continue to occur flouting statutory measures,” bench observed.

    “Article 21 of constitution ensures fundamental rights to each citizen of the country which are inalienable in nature and guarantees citizens right to live and to be treated as an individual of worth,” it added.

    Justice Nargal further emphasized that, “any omission in preventing the discharge of high voltage electric energy by anyone engaged in the activity of supplying such electric energy is liable to compensate for the damage caused to a human life because of such energy.”

     

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    #Electrocution #Deaths #Constitutes #Committee #Ensure #Implementation #Safety #Measures

    ( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

  • HC Orders Transfer Of 76 Judicial Officers

    HC Orders Transfer Of 76 Judicial Officers

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    SRINAGAR: In a major reshuffle, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on Wednesday ordered transfers and posting of 76 judicial officers across the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

    An order to this effect was issued by the Registrar General of High Court, Shahzad Azeem.

    As per the order, 32 district judges, 27 civil judges (senior division)/ sub-judges and 17 civil Judges (junior division)/ munsiffs have been transferred and given posting at new places.

    Aside from the above, 9 judicial officers were given additional charge of vacant courts/ fast track court/ District Legal Services Authorities.

    The High Court order further said that the transferee Judges should ensure that all matters pending for judgment/part heard, are completed and judgments/orders are pronounced in such matters before moving to their new posting.

    It also stated that the officers sent on deputation shall report to the Registrar Judicial, High Court of J&K, Srinagar/Jammu till their deputation orders are received from the government.

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    ( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

  • HC Seeks Report On Implementation Of RTE Act In JK

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    SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh Wednesday ordered the government to file status report of implementation of Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.

    The Court further directed to furnish the list of aided and unaided private schools in the Union Territory.

    The Division Bench of Justice Rajnesh Oswal and Justice Mohan Lal issued the directives on basis of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea filed by an NGO—Young Lawyers Forum (YLF) Kashmir seeking the court’s directions to the government for expeditious implementation of the Right to Education Act in letter and spirit.

    The submission was  made by the petitioner advocate Huzaif Ashraf Khanpori who was appearing before the court on behalf of YLF Kashmir that is a registered society based in Kashmir and advocates for socio-legal justice, in and out of courts.

    The petitioner argued before the court that “It has been more than three years since the Act of 2009 has become applicable to the Union Territory of JK and its applicability had given many hopes to children from marginalized and poor sections of the society to get education in private schools, which is otherwise unaffordable and unimaginable to them.”

    The counsel further submitted that “Even after an interlude of almost three years, the Act is yet to be implemented by the schools in the UT of JK due to the callous attitude of the Government and has deprived the poor students from their statutory right of receiving free and compulsory education under the Act and other rights enshrined therein.”

    According to the PIL, the advocate further highlighted the non-implementation of the mandatory reservation provided under Section 12(1)(b) and 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act which is in a continuing violation of the fundamental right to free and compulsory education under Article 21A available to the large section of children belonging to weaker and disadvantaged sections apart from violating the Statutory mandate under the RTE Act.

    Keeping in view the facts and circumstances, the Court orders, “The respondents shall file status report with regard to the steps undertaken by the respondents for implementation of the Rights of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 positively by next date of hearing with particular reference to the schools as defined under Section 2(n)(ii) and 2(n)(iv) of the said Act of 2009. (KNO)

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    #Seeks #Report #Implementation #RTE #Act

    ( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )