“Every accused, however bad, is entitled to a fair trial,” the Madras High Court has said, ordering the transfer of a case booked against a group of policemen for allegedly thrashing an advocate at the Ulundurpet police station in Villupuram district.
Justice P.N. Prakash transferred the trial to Tiruchi since one of the accused, K. Palani, an inspector, feared that he may not get justice if the trial was conducted in Villupuram, where the complainant, advocate Saran Raj, was practising.
The orders were passed on a petition preferred by the Inspector to quash the criminal case booked against him. The judge rejected the plea for quashing the case but acceded to a request for transfer to another district in order to ensure a fair trial.
It was the case of the prosecution that the Ulundurpet police had arrested the advocate in connection with another criminal case on June 30, 2015. He was produced before a judicial magistrate and was ordered to be remanded in judicial custody.
However, instead of taking him to jail, the policemen reportedly took him to the station and “bet him black and blue”. A First Information Report was registered against the policemen in 2015 and a charge-sheet was also filed against them in 2016.
Thereafter, the committal proceedings from the judicial magistrate to a Court of Sessions could not take place due to pendency of the present quash petition since 2017. Now, Justice Prakash has ordered that the case should be transferred from Ulundurpet to Tiruchi within four weeks.
After the transfer, it would be sufficient if the Inspector appears before the Tiruchi court only if it was essential. Nevertheless, he must execute a bond for ₹25,000 and undertake that an advocate nominated by him would conduct trial without adopting any dilatory tactics, the judge added.
