Registrar General, Patna High Court directed "to seek an explanation from the Deputy Registrar, Assistant Registrar and Section Officer" regarding their mistakes

On December 3, 2024, in Ravi Prakash Tiwary vs The State of Bihar, Patna High Court's Justice Anjani Kumar Sharan of  observed: "In my view, this case ought to have been listed under the heading 'For Admission', but it has been listed under the heading 'For Orders (On Office Notes)-I'. This is not a solitary case, which has been listed under the wrong heading. Today, four cases of similar types have been listed under the wrong heading. It is not the first day that the said mistake has been committed. I am pained to observe that office is committing these types of mistakes regularly....It is high time to fix responsibility for such mistakes to stop these types of mistakes wasting the Court's valuable time." 

The order states that "at present about 544 newly recruited Assistant Section Officers are working in this Court, excluding their predecessors. I feel that there are some lapses on administrative side to check, control and to properly take work from newly recruited incumbents as well as their predecessors." He added, " I feel that except the Assistant Section Officers, all are merely signing authorities and more so without checking the contents." 

The order underlines that "Vide office notes dated 20.11.2024, it is reported that jointness petition has been filed, which is kept at Flag ‘A’."

The Court directed the Registrar General of the Court "to seek an explanation from the Deputy Registrar, Assistant Registrar and Section Officer of the Section concerned on the administrative side within seven days furnishing the reason as to why these types of mistakes recur and under what circumstances proper monitoring of work is not done. It is also advisable to check, monitor and make surprise inspection of the offices of this Court at intervals so that best result is yielded in future." 

The case in question was filed on April 15, 2024 and registered on April 18, 2024. The petitioner from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh approached the High Court apprehending his arrest in connection with Complaint Case No. 603 of 2022 for the offence registered under sections 498(A) of the Indian Penal Code lodged on February 19, 2022 in Saidpur, Vaishali by Shweta Tiwary, the complainant, the wife of the petitioner. 

On May 21, 2024, Justice Rajiv Roy had passed an interim order saying, "let no coercive steps be taken against the petitioner in connection with Complaint Case No. 603 of 2022 pending in the Court of learned A.C.J.M. 1st Vaishali at Hajipur." On August 7, 2024, Justice Prabhat Kumar Singh had passed an order saying, "previous interim order shall continue." Responding to the prayer of the counsel for the petitioner, "four weeks’ peremptory time" was "granted to him to file a jointness petition" by Justice Sharan bench. The order reads: "Re-notify on 21.11.2024. Interim order, if any, shall continue in the meanwhile."

In his order of December 3, 2024, Justice Sharan observes: "On earlier occasion also, I have come across the cases in which case diary called for have been received but office had placed the matter for issuance of reminder. Inasmuch as I was facing these types of mistakes regularly, earlier on two or three occasions, I had called for the officer/person concerned to correct these mistakes and they were also told by my Court Master verbally. But, it appears to me that they are adamant not to correct themselves. When in previous years, this roster was allotted to this Bench, I had come across the same problems but on the plea that there is shortage of staff, I had neither taken any action nor called for anyone and ignored

No ray of hope for recovery of kidnapped child, case disposed of: Justice Bibek Chaudhuri, Patna High Court

Patna High Court's bench of Justice Bibek Chaudhuri observed, "In view of such affidavit having been filed by the head of the Special Investigating Team, the Special Investigating Team is directed to file its final report regarding their failure to recover the kidnapped boy in the jurisdictional court of the learned Magistrate" in Awadhesh Kumar v. State of Bihar. The case arose out of PS. Case No.-685 of 2014 Thana- Nagar District- Vaishali.

The petitioner had prayed for issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus against the respondents and other consequential relief, directing them to transfer the matter pertaining to Town P.S. Case No. 685 of 2014 for investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (C.B.I.) and recovery of 11 years old son of the petitioner namely Vinayak Kumar, who has been kidnapped by some unknown persons on 10th August, 2014. A Special Investigating Team was constituted under the leadership of S.D.P.O., Mahnar, Hajipur for the recovery of the victim boy, The Special Investigating Team conducted investigation and submitted charge-sheet against some accused persons, who initially demanded ransom for release of the child. This case is pending before the competent court. The present writ petition was kept alive directing the respondents time and again to take appropriate steps for recovery of the kidnapped boy.

On February 12, 2024, the High Court had passed an order directing the Special Investigating Team to intimate the Court as to whether there is any chance for recovery of the boy. The S.D.P.O., Mahnar, Hajipur, being the head of the Special Investigating Team filed an affidavit stating, inter alia, that the investigation had proceeded with all possible direction, but the kidnapped boy could not be recovered. The incident happened about nine and half years ago. Therefore, after the expiry of such long period, there is no ray of hope that the child would be recovered. Vasant Vikas, Advocate appeared for the petitioner and  Nashrul Hoda Khan and Irshad were Standing Counsels for the State.The writ petition was disposed of on March 6, 2024.